


i can't go face the world (my bones won't hold me up)

by blackrose1002, BlackVultures



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst, Babies, Broken Bones, Car Accidents, Cowgirl Position, Cuddling & Snuggling, Cute Kids, Dirty Talk, Doctors & Physicians, Drinking to Cope, F/F, F/M, Family Feels, First Kiss, First Time, Getting Together, Hand Jobs, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Massage, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Nightmares, Past Abuse, Pining, Possessive Behavior, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pregnancy, Riding, Shower Sex, Surgery, Texas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:48:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 50,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24030805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackrose1002/pseuds/blackrose1002, https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackVultures/pseuds/BlackVultures
Summary: Alice frowned, her eyebrows drawing down. “He didn’t tell you? I figured he called. He’s not staying here.”“I haven’t talked to Jack in... a while,” Mac said, not sure how much his mom knew about Jack being away from LA. “I came here because I thought he’d be here... but if he’s not then where is he?” He could’ve sworn Jack was there by Alice’s reaction, but if he wasn’t... well, in that case he hoped Alice will tell him where to look since she obviously knew where the bastard ran away to.“Jacky bought the ranch next door when the last of the Spencer family had to move to a retirement home.” She pointed west, and when Mac looked in the distance past the horse stable he saw a fence, and he guessed the property beyond it must belong to the next ranch. “Juan feeds his horses and Marisol comes in from town to take care of the rest while Jack’s gone. If you go back out to the road, it’s the next driveway, you can’t miss it. I know he’s there, because I haven’t seen him drive past... but Angus, there’s something you should know.”(Canon compliant until the end of Season 3. Alternate title: "step on a crack (jack broke his back)".)
Relationships: Jack Dalton/Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016), James MacGyver/Matilda "Matty" Webber, Riley Davis/Desiree "Desi" Nguyen, Wilt Bozer/Leanna Martin
Comments: 142
Kudos: 161





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Deep in the Heart of Texas](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16462949) by [lavendersblues (lonely_lovebird)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lonely_lovebird/pseuds/lavendersblues). 



> Hey guys! This is a looong fic that [blackrose1002](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackrose1002/pseuds/blackrose1002) and I have been looking forward to posting for ALMOST A YEAR, OH MY GOD!!! **We wrote this shortly after Season 3 ended, so any canon elements end there. Mac and Desi never dated, the Phoenix was never disbanded, and Russ isn't here.** Brace yourself for SO MANY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS, some really cool animals, and a ton of feels (and smut)!!! This is _our_ Ranchverse - a term coined originally by the ultra-lovely [lavendersblues](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lonely_lovebird/pseuds/lavendersblues) \- and it's super near and dear to our hearts, so we hope you enjoy it! Any mistakes are my own since I put this one together and we'd love to know what you think!
> 
> (Title is from "Someone Who Loves Me" by Sara Bareilles.)

It took almost a year for Kovacs to die, and Jack didn’t come home.

He wasn’t dead according to Matty, who got her intel straight from the horse’s mouth—the horse in this case being the deputy director of the CIA. It’d been a week since the personnel on the strike team were cleared to return to their lives, and Jack hadn’t shown up in LA. The deputy director told Matty that Jack took the plane back stateside with everyone else, went through medical and debrief, and then just... left. They didn’t know where he went, and he wasn’t answering his phone—in fact, his number was disconnected.

Everyone including Mac was worried, so he decided to take the two weeks of vacation he never used and go looking. He booked a plane ticket to the Dallas/Fort Worth airport, and when he landed in the blazing afternoon sun he rents a Jeep to drive out to the Dalton Ranch. If Jack was holed up anywhere, it’d be at his mom’s place. The first time Jack took Mac there wasn’t long after they got discharged, right before they started working for DXS. Jack’s mom was a sweetheart and Mac immediately loved her, and according to Jack she loved him as well and as Jack sometimes liked to joke, she would actually love to trade Jack for Mac. Mac didn’t really believe that, but it was... nice.

As he drove he tried to figure out what he was going to say to Jack once he found him and how hard he’d hit him for disappearing like that without a word and not coming back to LA. Before he knew it he saw the ranch in the distance and then he drove through the gate and parked the car not far from the house, in the same spot where he remembered Jack parked their car when they were visiting. Just as he got out a woman appeared on the porch and she smiles widely, and the fact that she didn’t seem surprised to see him told Mac that Jack was definitely hiding somewhere nearby.

Alice Dalton was in her seventies but you’d never know it, not from the way her dark eyes glimmered and how strong her grip was as she wrapped Mac up in her arms. “Angus, it is so good to see you,” she told him, her bobbed gray hair brushing his cheek as she pulled back to look at him, putting a hand on his face. “God, look at you. I swear, if I was a few years younger...”

Mac laughed like he did every time she said that, and interestingly he wasn’t sure she was kidding. “Alice, it’s nice to see you too,” he said, and he meant it. Jack’s mom was a spitfire, but more than that, she raised five kids under one roof and managed a working ranch for almost five decades. Jack’s brother Juan ran the place now, but Alice helped him out all the time anyway. “Where’s Jack?”

Alice frowned, her eyebrows drawing down. “He didn’t tell you? I figured he called. He’s not staying here.”

“I haven’t talked to Jack in... a while,” Mac said, not sure how much his mom knew about Jack being away from LA. “I came here because I thought he’d be here... but if he’s not then where is he?” He could’ve sworn Jack was there by Alice’s reaction, but if he wasn’t... well, in that case he hoped Alice will tell him where to look since she obviously knew where the bastard ran away to.

“Jacky bought the ranch next door when the last of the Spencer family had to move to a retirement home.” She pointed west, and when Mac looked in the distance past the horse stable he saw a fence, and he guessed the property beyond it must belong to the next ranch. “Juan feeds his horses and Marisol comes in from town to take care of the rest while Jack’s gone. If you go back out to the road, it’s the next driveway, you can’t miss it. I know he’s there, because I haven’t seen him drive past... but Angus, there’s something you should know.”

Mac already took a step back to his car when Alice’s words stopped him in his tracks. His mind raced as he tries to figure out why Jack never told him he had his own ranch, but all of that kind of... paused when he heard the tone of Alice’s words. Dread immediately spread through his body and he froze completely, not knowing what to expect. “What... what is it, Alice?” he asked quietly, somehow managing to keep his voice steady.

She put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “He showed up here about a week ago and he could barely walk. Wouldn’t tell me details, obviously, but he said he’d been on some kind of mission that took him away from you.” She sighed. “He broke his back on that mission, Angus. Apparently it’s a miracle he’s alive, let alone walking, and he... he didn’t want you to know.”

Mac’s heart dropped and he stared at Alice with wide eyes. He blinked a few times, trying to get his brain to work again, but all he could think about was that Jack got hurt during the mission, got hurt so badly that... he was apparently not able to work in the field anymore. That would explain why he ran away, but... it kind of stung that he didn’t feel like he could tell Mac about it. “I... I gotta go,” he whispered, and Alice let his shoulder go with a sad smile and a nod.

He jumped back into the car and got back on the road, driving for a short while before turning to the next ranch and stopping the car as soon as he was past the gate. He killed the engine and got out, slowly taking a few steps forward, listening for any sounds, but everything was silent around him. The house wasn’t as big as the one on Alice’s property, but it still had the broad front porch and a swing near the door that Mac was expecting. It was a little run down, which made sense since Alice said the last person who lived here was older, and when he climbed the steps he almost put his foot through one of them.

He knocked at the door, and when nothing happened for a couple moments, he tried something else: “Jack, it’s me! I talked to Alice, and I’m not leaving until you let me in!”

Again nothing happened, and Mac was about to bang on the door again or maybe go around and find another way in—or he could’ve just knocked the door down, but he didn’t feel like accidentally getting shot by Jack—when he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps inside. Those were footsteps so familiar that it almost made him sob, and then the door opened, revealing Jack... who looked awful. He had a full beard on his face and he was thinner than Mac remembered. He was also pale and looked exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes, but what scared Mac a little was the look in those eyes, a blank and distant stare that made Mac’s blood turn to ice.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Jack growled, but Mac didn’t even flinch—he wasn’t afraid of Jack, he couldn’t be, but he was afraid _for_ him since it was clear Jack wasn’t doing well. He wore a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants that look like they hadn’t been washed in a while, and it didn’t look like Jack had showered recently either. A beer bottle dangled from one hand, his gun in the other, and he leaned against the doorjamb for support, the lines around his eyes indicating he was in pain.

“I came to find you,” Mac said, blinking hard to keep the tears welling in his eyes at bay. “You didn’t come home, Jack.”

Jack let out a bitter chuckle that didn’t sound like a chuckle at all. “I did,” he said after a moment, his hard eyes fixed on Mac. “After so many years I’m finally back home.” Mac swallowed hard, trying to pretend these words didn’t hurt as much as they did. He knew Jack was acting like that on purpose, but a part of him wondered if maybe Jack meant it. Some of it must’ve showed on his face because Jack snickered, his eyes still cold. “Why d’you look so surprised? You didn’t really expect me to come back after so long? It’s not like I had anything to come back to.” That one hurt even more and Mac felt like he’d been slapped. “About damn time you grew up, kid, and learned to be on your own.”

Jack moved to shut the door in Mac’s face, but Mac shoved his foot between the door and the frame at the last second, acting mostly on reflex. “Fuck you,” Mac said, the two words snapping out of him with venom, and Jack’s eyes went wide with surprise. He shoved his shoulder against the door next and pushed inside, nearly knocking Jack down in the process—he stumbled back but didn’t fall, although he did let out a hiss of pain. “I know I hurt you when I went to Nigeria and didn’t return your calls, but that doesn’t mean you get to act like this is what you want.” He gestured around them at the dilapidated interior of the house, full of dusty furniture and kitchen cabinets that were all but falling off the wall. “This isn’t your home and you know it.”

“It may as well be,” Jack said quietly, the look in his eyes still hard, but there was also more pain in them than before. “If you talked to my mama than you know what happened. I’m fucking useless, so there’s no point in me going back to LA.” He tossed the gun on a small shelf that looks like it was barely holding on and took a sip of his beer. “I appreciate you coming to check on me, I do, it’s cute. But you should get back to your shiny perfect life, forget about me and this place, and go be a fucking superhero saving the world.”

Mac took three quick strides forward and got in Jack’s face, ripping the bottle out of his hand and slamming it down on the shelf. It collapsed to the floor, taking the gun and the (thankfully empty) bottle with it, but Mac didn’t even look in that direction. “My life is far from perfect,” he said, his voice cracking. “Charlie’s dead, my dad has cancer and we’re not talking again, and Billy was cheating on Riley—those are the bullet points for what you missed.” He took a deep breath and forced himself to gentle his tone... and he put his hand on Jack’s shoulder, biting the inside of his cheek to stifle a sob. “I’m not a superhero, Jack. And I don’t want to save the world without you.”

For the first time since Mac got there Jack didn’t have a reply ready. He just stared at Mac with wide eyes full of shock, his lips moving without a sound getting out.

“ _Now_ you’re speechless?” Mac shook his head with a humorless chuckle before he deflated, the anger draining out of him. “I’m... if you really want that, I’ll go,” he whispered, combing his fingers through his hair and swallowing down a sob—he wasn’t going to cry in front of Jack, not _this_ Jack—and took a few steps toward the door.

Jack made a sound low in his throat, and there was a creak of a floorboard like he was moving forward. “Mac, wait.”

As Mac turned to look at him, Jack made a pained sound and he saw rapid motion out of the corner of his eye. Without thinking Mac lunged and caught Jack under the arms before he could fall over, his face twisted up in agony. “Jack? What’s wrong?” he asked, anxiety aching in his chest, their argument momentarily forgotten.

“Muscle spasm,” Jack gasped out, his fingers turned claws digging into Mac’s biceps. “Happens when you... fracture five vertebrae. Can you... get me to the couch?”

“Yeah, yeah, of course,” Mac said, and together they sort of crab-walked to the sofa, which was older than Mac by at least thirty years and covered in paisley fabric. He sat down and then helped Jack do the same, and stayed very still when Jack sort of... curled in toward him, forehead resting on Mac’s shoulder, his breaths coming harsh but slow. The position gave Mac a good view of Jack’s back, and now he saw exactly how swollen it was even through his t-shirt. “Jack—”

“I’m sorry.” Jack cut him off in a whisper, sounding... completely broken. “I’m so sorry, Mac, I’m... I didn’t mean...” He was still curled into Mac, his hands twitching on top of his thighs as if he wanted to touch Mac, but wasn’t sure he was allowed to. “I’m so sorry.”

“I know,” Mac whispered back, and while he was almost sure Jack didn’t mean any of the shit he’d said, it was still a relief to hear that out loud. “It’s okay, Jack.” He slipped his arms around and held him Jack as tightly as he dared, making sure not to touch his back, and slowly Jack lifted his arms and wrapped them around Mac’s middle in a hug. And the next time Mac blinked he felt hot tears roll down his cheeks, and he had to work to keep his voice steady when he said, “I missed you, big guy. Why didn’t you tell me what happened? I would’ve been here when you got off the plane.”

“I know you would’ve,” Jack said quietly, his voice hoarse and resigned. “But I... I didn’t want you to see me like this. I’m... even once I get better, I’ll never be able to go back to work,” he whispered, his voice breaking. Mac swallowed hard, more tears rolling down his cheeks—he figured out as much and his heart broke for Jack. “You don’t need me anymore, so I didn’t... didn’t wanna burden you with this.”

“That’s not how this thing between us works, Jack,” Mac pointed out, gently rubbing circles against Jack’s shoulder without conscious thought. “You go kaboom, I go kaboom, remember? I’ll always need you, but beyond that, I know for a fact that if our roles were reversed you’d drop everything for me in a second. That goes both ways.” He swallowed hard. “What... what happened? They must’ve been burst fractures for you to be in this much pain.”

Jack exhaled shakily and he still didn’t move, and Mac wondered if this position caused him the least pain or if he was simply in too much pain to move. “I’m... we found Kovacs and I... I took him out.” He didn’t elaborate how exactly, but Mac had a few ideas. “But when we were getting out some of his goons started chasing us and I was covering one of the guys on my team... so I didn’t notice the car and it kinda... hit me.”

Mac squeezed his eyes shut, able to picture what happened with no problem. “I should’ve been there,” he said, and his hands moved without his permission again, massaging the tense muscles in Jack’s shoulders. He relaxed under Mac’s touch in increments, the worst of the spasm passing. “Was it just the vertebrae?”

“No,” Jack replied, and Mac felt his breath against his neck. “Got some broken ribs, bruising everywhere, a concussion. Had to pull out every trick in the book so the brass would let me leave with everybody else.”

“God, Jack, you should’ve called me,” Mac whispered, his fingers digging into Jack’s shoulder before he forced them to relax a bit. Jack had been through so much completely alone, and Mac felt like an asshole for not being there... even if he had no way of knowing. He took a few deep breaths trying to get his shit together because he was worried that if he didn’t control himself, he was going to slip up and reveal too much. And the last thing Jack needed right now was to find out Mac had been hopelessly in love with him for years.

Jack was silent for a minute, before he lifted his head enough to look Mac in the eye. “Yeah, I should’ve,” he admitted. “Because you’re right, I would’ve done the same thing for you that you’re doing for me right now.” He glanced around and snorts. “And you’re also right when you say this place is a dump. I bought it a while back, thinking... maybe when you got tired of saving the world, it’d be something we could fix up together. Providing you weren’t married or something by then, of course.”

Mac couldn’t help how his heart started fluttering in his chest because... because Jack apparently made retirement plans with Mac in mind. He managed not to snort at the marriage comment—the only person he wanted to marry was Jack, but it wasn’t like he could tell him that. Curiously, he glanced around and he already saw how they could start fixing it. “It’s a good idea,” he mused, his brain already cataloguing every detail. “We should totally do that once you’re feeling better. It’s not like I’m going back to the Phoenix anyway.”

Jack startled a little in his hold, his eyes going wide with shock. “Mac... what are you talking about? The world needs—”

“You need me more,” Mac interjected, which was presumptuous on his part, but it had the desired effect of derailing Jack’s self-sacrificing train of thought. “And I don’t want to do our job without you.”

“But... but, Mac, you _can’t_ ,” Jack stressed. “Think of all the people, the team, the—”

Mac cut Jack off again. “The team will be fine, they’re more than capable of doing the job. Jack, the only reason I stayed when you left was because I thought it was a temporary arrangement and that eventually you’d be back. If you can’t... then I’m not going back either.”

Jack was quiet for a moment, obviously still trying to process Mac’s revelation. “Mac, you’re... Matty’s never going to let you leave. Neither will you old man.”

“They don’t control me,” Mac said, and he was still working on Jack’s shoulders, one particularly stubborn knot of muscle easing under his fingers. “If I want to quit, they can’t stop me. Besides, you’ve said it before—we’re better when we’re together. I don’t want to do this without you.” Again, that was awfully close to revealing Mac’s true feelings, but he needed to make Jack understand. “I’m not going anywhere, unless you decide to kick me out. And then I’ll just go sleep in my rental car... or tell your mom on you.”

Jack chuckled weakly and sat up straight. “Mac, quitting is... is one thing, but moving your life here? To a lousy ranch in Texas?” He looked at Mac incredulously, still apparently not getting that being with Jack was all that Mac cared about. “What about your house, Bozer... everything? You’re gonna go crazy here, man.”

“Bozer will take care of the house,” Mac said, and a plan was forming in his mind for that, too. “He and Leanna can live there instead of spending money on an apartment. I can have him ship some of my stuff down here, and I’m sure I can buy whatever I don’t have.” He smiled a little. “And I won’t go crazy. I’ve got you for entertainment, plus like you said, this place needs a lot of work. And if I run out of stuff to do here, I’m sure I could help Juan with something at your mom’s place.” He paused, let his hands slide off Jack’s shoulders and into his own lap. “She’s worried about you, by the way. She didn’t say it, but... I could tell.”

“I know, I’ve... kinda holed up myself here, ignoring anyone that came to see me,” Jack said with a small wince before his eyes started searching Mac’s face. “I’m really not gonna talk you out of this, am I?” Mac just shook his head with a smile, glad that Jack finally accepted the inevitable, and Jack smiled back... at least until the smile faded away and his eyes widened. “Wait a sec, you said... when I was being an ass, you said that... you said many things that happened.”

Mac winced. “Yeah, it’s been... really tough. Especially without you around.” He started with his dad’s diagnosis and didn’t stop talking until he got through Charlie’s death and the aftermath of their tangle with Mason. “He scared me,” Mac admitted softly, honest in a way that he never would be with anyone else. “More than Murdoc or any of the other people we’ve faced off with... he got in my head. And he won.” He sighed, twisting his fingers together on his thigh. “I’m still having nightmares about that damn elevator.”

“I never should’ve left,” Jack said quietly, guilt and regret lacing his voice and shining in his eyes. “I should’ve been with you, help you get through all of that,” he sighed and he eyed Mac’s hands for a moment before reaching under the leather cuff on his wrist and producing a paperclip. He handed it Mac and chuckled when Mac stared at him with wide eyes. “Old habits die hard, buddy. I couldn’t stop carrying them around, I... I really missed you, you know. Haven’t said that before.”

Mac grinned at him, immediately unbending the paperclip and starting to twist it into shape. It began forming the bends and curves of the state of Texas, and when he was done he handed it back to Jack. “Let me call Matty and tell her I’m quitting, and with your permission, how about I see if Bozer and Leanna would be willing to drive the GTO down here with some of our stuff in it? That would be cheaper than shipping it all.”

Jack looked at him for a moment before he sighed. “Fine, but only if Leanna is the one driving it.”

“Deal.” Mac’s grin widened and he patted Jack’s shoulder gently before standing up. “I’ll be right back.” He stepped outside, eyeing the ruined porch and already planning how to fix it. He took his phone out and went through his contacts, briefly wondering if he should call his dad, but decided against it. They weren’t on good terms right now and he’d much rather have this conversation with Matty.

Unsurprisingly, she picked up almost right away: “Blondie. Have you found him?”

“Yeah, actually I... I did,” Mac said, biting his lower lip and taking a deep breath before continuing, “but that’s not the reason I’m calling. I know I shouldn’t be doing this through the phone, but... I quit, Matty. Effective immediately.”

Matty was quiet for several beats, and then she asked in a surprisingly soft tone, “He’s that bad?”

Mac felt himself getting choked up again and had to clear his throat. “Yeah, he is. He... he broke his back, and they told him he’s never gonna work again. He bought the ranch next door to his mom’s a while back when it went up for sale and he’s been holed up here by himself. I... I can’t leave him, Matty. I won’t. I’ll see if I can drag him into Dallas somewhere to get a second opinion, but... I don’t know if things will get any better.”

She sighed on the other end of the line. “Okay, Mac. I’ll have Riley look up some spine docs in that area and send you a recommendation... but I’m not letting you quit. You’re on sabbatical until further notice, and so is Jack. That means you get to keep your paychecks and your health insurance.”

Mac’s jaw dropped open and he blinked a few times, trying to get over the shock. “I’m... I...you...”

“It’s rare to render you speechless, Blondie, it’s oddly satisfying,” Matty said, a smile audible in her voice.

“Can you... can you even do something like that?” Mac asked incredulously. “Because... Matty, I’m _not_ coming back without him. If he doesn’t get better or if he says he doesn’t want to be in the field anymore... I won’t come back.”

“Are you seriously asking me if there’s something I _can’t_ do, MacGyver?” Matty asked, her tone incredulous, but Mac knew her well enough to know she was amused. “We’re a family, Mac. You taught me that, remember? And family watches out for each other. Now, find Dalton and give him the phone.”

“Yes ma’am,” Mac said, and found himself smiling. He walked back inside and saw Jack digging through the refrigerator, his weight propped against the cabinet next to it. He looked up when Mac came over and held out the phone. “Matty wants to talk to you.”

Jack actually blanched, making a face, and Mac had to stifle a laugh as he handed him the phone. “Hey, Matty,” Jack said quietly, the greeting so much different than how he usually would have addressed her. After that Jack was mostly quiet, humming and listening to what Matty was saying, so Mac grabbed a few beers he noticed Jack took out and brought them back to the couch, giving Jack some privacy. After a while Jack came back to the couch as well, moving slowly but steadily, and he gave Mac back the phone.

“So?” Mac raised his eyebrow. “How was it?”

“She told me if I didn’t let you take me into Dallas for a second opinion she’d come down here and break my legs to go with my back,” Jack informed him, sitting down. He was close enough that Mac felt the heat from his body, and he distracted himself by taking a sip off his beer. It was warm in the house even with all the windows open, but a lazily-spinning ceiling fan overhead helped to circulate the air. “She also said we were on sabbatical?”

“Yeah, that surprised me too,” Mac admitted, leaning back against the cushions. “But I’m not gonna complain about it.” He put his phone on silent because he knew it was about to blow up with calls and texts from his dad, Desi, and Riley. He’d call Bozer in a while, but for right now he wanted to enjoy Jack’s company. “Don’t be surprised if your mom sends Juan over here to make sure you didn’t shoot me or something.”

Jack looked at him incredulously. “Come on, they know I’d never do that.”

Mac just gave him a pointed look, raising his eyebrow. “Well, you did open the door with a gun in your hand even though you knew I was on the other side, I was yelling loud enough,” he commented casually, and Jack winced. “Were you trying to scare me away or something? Before you started telling me I need to grow up, I mean.”

“I really am sorry about that, Mac,” Jack said, rubbing the back of his neck. The gun in question was on the coffee table in front of them along with the beers and an ashtray that was big enough to be a chamber pot. “I’ve kinda just been... carrying it around with me. Paranoia, I guess. And... when I heard your voice, I didn’t believe it was actually you at first.”

“Who else would it be?” Mac frowned a little. “I thought you’d recognize my voice by now,” he teased, nudging Jack’s shoulder gently. “But seriously, Jack, did you... did you really thought we’d just let you disappear like that? That _I_ would let you just... take off and that I wouldn’t come looking for you?”

“I... didn’t wanna get my hopes up,” Jack said, and there was something vulnerable in his eyes that wasn’t there before. “I thought maybe... Desi’s a real spitfire, I knew you guys would get along great once she opened up a little...” He stared down at his bare feet against the wide floorboards. “I figured you might forget about me.”

Mac’s eyes widened in shock and his chest tightened painfully. “Jack, no. There’s no way I could ever forget you, that was never an option.” He barely stopped himself from reaching and grabbing Jack’s hand, because he couldn’t do that— _friends_ didn’t do that. “You’re right, after a while we did start to get along great, but... I still wanted you back.”

“Did you and Desi... you know?” Jack asked quietly after a moment, and it took a second for Mac to understand what Jack was asking about.

Once he did, he felt himself blush and sucked down another swallow of beer. “No, no, nothing like that,” he said hurriedly. “Uh, she asked me out once, but I turned her down. I think she and Riley might actually being going out now, but you didn’t hear that from me.” He paused. “Did you... were you _expecting_ us to... you know?”

“I don’t know, kinda?” Jack admitted. “Like I said, Desi’s really awesome... plus, you’d have to be blind not to see how gorgeous she is.” He paused after a moment before making a face. “Just don’t tell her I said that, she’ll skin me alive. Anyway, I... I guess I thought you may become... more after some time.” He shrugged a little, and they were quiet as Mac processed all of that. “What did you turn her down anyway?” Jack asked, but then he immediately shook his head. “Nah, sorry, man, you don’t have to answer that. That’s none of my business.”

Mac rolled his beer bottle between his palms and looked anywhere but at Jack’s face. “I... told her I had feelings for someone else.”

Before Jack could ask the next logical question—like who Mac had feelings for—there was a knock at the door. A moment later, Juan’s voice called through it: “Jacky! Mama told me to come over here! Please tell me I don’t have to throw MacGyver’s body in with the pigs!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the lovely comments on the first chapter. This fic is our baby (one of many, lol) and we're SO happy you guys like it! <3 This chapter introduces one of Jack's brothers, as well as some very important furry friends... enjoy!

“Told you,” Mac said, and stood up to get the door, not wanting Jack to move too much. He opened it to reveal Jack’s brother on the other side, who immediately flashed him a wide Dalton grin. “Hey, Juan. I survived, so no need for drastic measures.”

It was amazing that even though Juan was technically adopted—along with his younger sister, Marisol—he still had the same smile as the rest of the family. He was a few years younger than Jack and had no gray hair in sight, kept his handsome face clean-shaven, and his brown skin always seemed to have a sheen of sweat over it. He wore a cowboy hat that he took off when he stepped forward to give Mac a friendly hug. “Well, that’s good to hear. You know how I feel about cleaning up Jacky’s messes.” He laughed when Jack gave him the middle finger from the couch. “Actually, I just got back from the store. You wanna help me unload some groceries, string bean?”

Mac rolled his eyes but gave Juan a nod. “Sure, come on,” he said, and followed Juan outside where his truck was parked not far from Mac’s rental car. “So, Juan, how’s—”

Before Mac could finish the sentence he was cut off by a loud barking coming from somewhere on their right and when he turned around he saw a dog running in their direction. It stopped a few feet away and stared at Mac, and even though it was a dog... Mac swore it was looking at him suspiciously and that was confirmed when the dog growled quietly.

“Oh, that’s McClane,” Juan said, not phased in the slightest. “He showed up not long after Jacky bought this place, and I’ve been leaving food out for him. Not super friendly, but he keeps the coyotes away.” He rolled his eyes as he lifts up some bags of produce. “My brother named him, obviously. Because _Die Hard_ apparently rules his entire life.”

Mac smiled at the name, not surprised in the slightest and kept looking at the dog. It was a medium sized mutt, beautiful with black fur on his back and brown on his paws, head and muzzle, and he was still watching Mac with his dark eyes, although he wasn’t growling anymore. “McClane, huh?” he asked, and took a step closer to the dog before crouching down and tilting his head a little. “Not gonna lie, it fits you, buddy.”

McClane slowly stepped towards Mac and when he got close enough Mac extended his hand because he didn’t have any self-preservation instincts—he’d heard that from a few people. Hesitantly, McClane took one step closer, eyeing Mac’s hand that Mac kept completely still, and then he sniffed it before licking it and immediately butting it with his head, demanding to be scratched behind the ears. Mac grinned and did as he was told, dutifully scratching behind McClane’s ears and then laughing loudly when the dog decided to tackle him to the ground to lick his face.

“Damn, Jacky, your boy’s a fucking animal whisperer!” Juan exclaimed as he went into the house, and a moment later he reappeared on the porch with Jack at his side, helping him sit on the steps.

“Figures a mutt like that would love you,” Jack commented, and while it would sound crass from anyone else, Mac knew he meant it fondly—but he was a little too busy being licked to death to respond.

He couldn’t stop laughing, continuing to run his hands through McClane’s soft fur, and eventually the dog calmed down and stopped licking him... and promptly laid down on Mac’s chest, staring down at him with tongue lolling out of his muzzle, almost looking like he was smiling. Mac felt McClane’s tail wag against his legs and since he couldn’t really move for now, he turned his head to look at Jack with a grin so wide that his face hurt.

For a second he saw a soft look on Jack’s face, but then he blinked and it was replaced by amusement. “Found yourself a new friend, huh?”

“I guess so,” Mac said, and a part of him couldn’t help but wonder what that brief flash of emotion he saw on Jack’s face was.

Eventually McClane decided he wanted to make other pals and got up, trotting over to Jack and giving a cheerful little bark when he petted his head. He sat on the steps next to Jack, right in Juan’s path. He groaned theatrically and stepped around the dog with more groceries, and Mac stood up and dusted himself off. On his way back Juan tried to nudge McClane away with his feet and McClane immediately growled at him, baring his teeth.

“Oh come on, that ain’t fair,” Juan complained, slowly moving away and looking between Jack and Mac. “How come he gets along along with literally just you two and no one else?”

“The dog has a good taste and hangs out only with worthy people,” Jack retorted, sticking his tongue at Juan when his brother rolled his eyes again.

Chuckling, Mac got to the car to grab one of the last bags of groceries. “Come on, I promised to help,” he told Juan with a grin, and they both headed back inside, setting the last of groceries on the table that Mac hoped wouldn’t fall apart.

Juan muttered something in Spanish about twigs and spit in regards to the table that made Mac laugh, and once they got the food put away, Juan helped himself to a beer and looked first out the door at Jack sitting with McClane, then at Mac. “Thank you for coming down here, Mac,” he said, quiet and sincere. “We were all worried about Jacky, Mama especially, and between Marisol and Warren—” the latter the oldest of the Dalton kids and a father of seven himself “—I thought they were gonna come out here and break his door down.”

“Oh, he would’ve hated that,” Mac said, wincing at the thought and knowing it would have ended in a lot of yelling. He glanced at Jack and smiled when McClane surged forward and licked Jack’s cheek, catching him off guard. “You don’t have to thank me,” Mac said quietly, turning back to Juan. “He’s...” _My everything_ , he finished in his mind, but no one could know about this, especially Jack’s brother. “He’s family. When he didn’t come back to LA I knew I had to find him.”

Juan smiled, and while the corners of his eyes didn’t crinkle it was still a handsome expression. “Well, as far as I’m concerned you’re an honorary Dalton, and I think Jacky would agree.” He grabbed his hat off the counter and downed the other half of his beer in one swig—all that grocery hauling was thirsty work. “And by the way? I know you think you’re being subtle, but it’s clear to anybody with a working set of eyes that you’re in love with my brother... except for Jacky, apparently.” He plopped the hat back on his head and smacked Mac’s shoulder. “And you clearly can’t see that he feels the same way. I’m gonna go feed the horses and then head out—I’ll add you to the family group chat, maybe we can figure out a time to get everybody together.” And with that he was gone, heading out the door and tapping Jack on the top of the head on his way by.

Mac froze in shock, his eyes wide as he watched Juan leave. He was sure he was hiding his feelings for Jack well, but that wasn’t what made his heart race. Because... Jack feeling the same way? That was something Mac never considered and it was... impossible. It couldn’t be true and Juan... Juan must’ve been wrong. Looking outside at Jack again, Mac forced himself not to get his hopes up. Then again… Juan _was_ Jack’s brother, and he _did_ know him pretty well... but Mac couldn’t believe it, couldn’t believe that Jack would feel that way about him. He started putting the groceries away in a bit of a daze, and when he went through the last bag he found a new cell phone still in its box. He takes it outside with him and smiled when McClane’s tail thumped against Jack’s side when he spotted Mac coming their way.

“Hey, buddy,” he murmured, scratching him behind the ear before he sat down next to Jack on the steps and opened the box. “Let me guess—you smashed your last phone against a wall? And Juan keeps bringing you new ones and you keep giving them back?”

Jack looked at him for a moment before sighing. “Fuck, you know me too well,” he said, reluctantly accepting the phone when Mac handed it to him. “I... I wasn’t doing that great as you can probably guess.” He rolled his eyes when Mac snorted. “So there was a lot of... smashing and throwing things, and I kinda... didn’t want anyone contacting me anyway, so I kept throwing the phones back in Juan’s face.”

“I’m sure he loved that,” Mac said, and they lapsed into silence for a moment. McClane yawned and rested his head on Mac’s thigh, and he scratched the top of it absently. Then he pulled out his own phone and called Bozer, figuring he might as well get it over with. Within five minutes of explaining what happened Bozer demanded to talk to Jack, so Mac put the call on speakerphone and had to suppress the giggles as his best friend lectured Jack on exactly why he should’ve called as soon as he got out of his last briefing and how Bozer was going to have Leanna beat him up even more when they got down to Texas in a couple of days.

“We’ll take the next week off,” Leanna told them, sounding just as amused by Bozer’s ranting as Mac felt. “Mac, try to make sure Jack doesn’t do anything else stupid before we get there, or Bozer might have a stroke.”

“Hey, you listen to me, Bozer,” Jack started, speaking in his low, scary voice that usually fooled no one _but_ Bozer. “If you even touch the steering wheel of my car, I will find out and I will make you regret it, are we clear?”

Bozer made a small, choked noise, and Mac had to cover his mouth with his hand to stifle his laughter.

“Don’t worry, Jack, I’ll drive,” Leanna assured him, and Mac heard a smile in her voice. “There won’t be a scratch on your car, I promise.”

They said goodbye after that, and Mac was finally able to laugh like he so desperately wanted to. “Well, you certainly put the fear of God into him.”

Jack snorted. “Pretty good for a guy who can hardly move, huh?”

Mac stood up and held out a hand, which Jack accepted to help him up and then hung on to while he got his balance. McClane trotted into the house like he belonged there and immediately found the bowls of food and water that Juan set up before he left and started munching happily. “What do you wanna do about dinner?” Mac asked, letting Jack lean on his shoulder as they headed into the kitchen. “I bet if you tell me what to do I can probably cook something simple without burning the house down.”

“You’re literally capable of burning _water_ , Mac,” Jack said, giving him a pointed look. “But I guess we don’t really have a choice.” He sighed and Mac grinned at him, fully aware that he was a disaster when it came to cooking. “Did you see if Juan got tortillas? Because if you listen to everything I say you hopefully won’t fuck up quesadillas, they’re easy to make even for someone as hopeless as you.” Jack eyed McClane for a moment before sighing again. “I have a dog now, don’t I?”

McClane came over as soon as Jack sat in one of the kitchen chairs and put his head in his lap, staring up at him with baleful brown eyes.

“Yep, you do,” Mac said, smiling when Jack sighed a third time and scratched the top of McClane’s fuzzy head. “And Juan did get tortillas, I saw them.” He listened attentively as Jack started giving instructions, pulling out all the ingredients and warming a skillet on the stove. Something occurred to him, and he narrowed his eyes in Jack’s direction. “Did the docs you saw give you a brace to wear while your back heals? And have you just not been wearing it?”

“Eyes on the stove, kid, I didn’t buy this ranch just so you could burn half of it down,” Jack immediately retorted. “God, I’m actually letting you cook, my brain must have suffered in that accident more than I thought,” he muttered, but when Mac kept glaring at him he rolled his eyes, going back to petting McClane when he whined impatiently. “They did and I have been wearing it... sometimes.”

“Sometimes?” Mac repeated incredulously. “You’re supposed to wear it all the time, Jack, that’s the only way it works.” He was done chopping everything, so he threw some vegetables and cheese on the tortillas in the skillet, along with some pre-cooked chicken, and then tossed more tortillas on top of that. It was actually pretty straightforward once it got going, and as long as he didn’t get distracted it wouldn’t burn. “Do you want to be a hunchback for the rest of your life? Because if not, you should put the damn brace on.”

“I didn’t figure it mattered, okay?” Jack asked, looking down at McClane instead of at Mac. “It’s not like I would be going back to work or LA anyway, so I figured... why should I bother? I’m gonna be stuck here for the rest of my life, so it didn’t matter. I didn’t predict you coming here and basically moving in, so...” He trailed off with a shrug. “I kinda figured I’d be here alone forever, so I didn’t really care.”

Mac made an exasperated sound, staring up at the ceiling for a moment. It badly needed a paint job, just like the rest of the house. He didn’t respond right away, only waited until the quesadillas were done before plating them and cutting them into slices. He put the plates on the table in front of Jack, then walked down the hall to the master bedroom. The brace was tossed haphazardly in one corner near Jack’s suitcase, and Mac grabbed it and headed back to the kitchen.

“Put it on,” he said to Jack. “Please?” Jack eyed it for a moment before looking at Mac, and eventually he took it from him and carefully put it on. Mac patted Jack’s head gently before grabbing his plate and sitting down on the other side of the table. “There you go.”

Jack made an indignant sound. “What the hell, man, did you confuse me with McClane?”

Mac grinned at him. “Nope,” he said, and started laughing when Jack throws a piece of red onion at him. “Bad boy!” And then they were both laughing, and it felt so... normal, in a way that it hadn’t since before Mac went to Nigeria. He took a bite of his quesadilla and made an impressed sound. “Hey, this is actually edible! I did it!”

“Yeah, you did,” Jack said with a grin, and he actually looked proud. “Maybe there is some hope left for you... if you keep following the instructions of course. I wouldn’t trust you with making tea on your own.”

“Hey!” Mac exclaimed. “I can make coffee!”

“No, you can push the button on the coffee machine,” Jack pointed out, and well... he wasn’t wrong. “The coffee machine does the rest. And by the way, I don’t have one here, so we’ll have to use the old coffee maker I stole from my mama.”

“I... think I’ll let you do that,” Mac said, smiling sheepishly when Jack laughed. He got up and cleared their plates, starting to wash the dishes by hand without being asked. It didn’t take long and pretty soon he was drying off his hands on a kitchen towel patterned with footballs. He felt Jack’s gaze on him and turns to face him, raising an eyebrow. “What? You’ve been staring at me for ten minutes now.”

“Sorry,” Jack said with a small smile, and he was... blushing? But that was probably only because Mac caught him staring. “I just... I can’t believe you’re actually here, you know? And that you didn’t just turned around and leave the second I started spewing bullshit.”

Mac smiled back, because how could he not? “I knew it was bullshit, that was why I stayed,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “You were hurt and lashing out, it’s not exactly the first time you’ve done it.” He paused. “It did still suck, though. Full disclosure.”

“I know, I’m sorry,” Jack said with a wince. “I don’t have great coping mechanisms, do I?”

“Well, when I’m angry I blow shit up, so I don’t know, maybe your way is actually better.” Mac shrugged and Jack laughed in response, which was exactly what Mac was hoping for. The table was still standing so he sat down on a chair next to Jack’s, and McClane immediately turned his attention to him, walking over and resting his head on his thigh.

“Traitor,” Jack muttered, but he was smiling, looking at the dog fondly before glancing at Mac. “So... I guess we should find you a place to stay, huh? The house is pretty big you know, there are a few guest bedrooms here.”

“Okay, I’ll pick one out,” Mac said, and he belatedly remembered his stuff was still out in the rental car. “Actually, I’ll be right back.” He gently nudged McClane away, ignoring his pathetic whimpering, and jogged out to the Jeep. He grabbed his carry-on bag, his suitcase, and the second suitcase he’d crammed full of Jack’s stuff and checked as an extra piece of luggage. He brought them all inside and smiled at the shocked expression on Jack’s face when recognized his own suitcase. “I didn’t know what you had with you here, so I brought some stuff. Including all your _Die Hard_ DVDs.”

“Aw, man, I could kiss you right now,” Jack said with a grin.

Mac ignored how his heart jumped pathetically, forcing himself to not say something stupid like _then why won’t you?_ “I’m gonna take that to your room,” he said instead, already dragging the suitcase with him. “And then I’ll find a room for myself.”

He wasn’t even surprised when McClane followed him, sniffing everything curiously and sneezing when he accidentally inhaled a bunch of dust. After he took stock of all the bedrooms and dropped off Jack’s stuff, Mac selected the room closest to Jack’s for himself, which appeared to have belonged to a teenaged girl at some point. It didn’t bother him, though, and besides the master it had the biggest bed. There was nothing on the mattress besides sheets but Mac didn’t think he’d need a blanket with how stifling it was inside. He threw his suitcase on the bed and started unpacking.

He heard Jack’s heavy footsteps a moment later. “Really, dude? The pink room?”

Mac just smiled and shook his head. “I don’t mind. It’s got the best bed and the best view.”

McClane laid down in one corner, head flat on the floor. “Looks like you have a roommate,” Jack teased before his smile dims a little. “Look, I know this house has... seen better days, to put it mildly. And it ain’t nothin’ like your house back in LA, but...” he trailed off, an insecure look crossing his face as if he was actually worried Mac might change his mind, pack up, and leave after all.

Mac rolled his eyes good naturedly. “Jack, I don’t care if this place is a little rough around the edges. That means all we can do is make it better, right?” That seemed to satisfy Jack, at least for now, and Mac’s hand ran over something important folded into his clothes. “Oh, here! I almost forgot.” He pulled out Jack’s cigar box and held it out to him. “I figured you might want this, but I wanted to keep it with me in case the other suitcase got lost.”

Jack stared at the cigar box with wide eyes, completely still for a few seconds before reaching and taking it in his hands. Mac smiled softly to himself as he watched Jack look at the box with an emotional gaze, and then he looked away and went back to unpacking, wanting to give Jack some privacy. “You’re... thank you, Mac,” Jack says quietly after clearing his throat, and Mac didn’t need to look at him to know that Jack was rubbing at his eyes. “You’re the best. I mean it.”

“You’re welcome, man,” Mac said, and he had to work to keep his voice steady. The love that he felt for Jack was like a living thing that was trying to crawl up his throat, and he bit his lower lip to keep it in. “It was no problem, man.”

He pulled his spare boots out of the suitcase and stuck them under the bed, and then he zipped it up and put it the corner. He was careful not to look at Jack and hoped there was nothing in his posture that suggested he was hiding something. He didn’t know why it was so much harder to hide his feelings from Jack than it used to be. He supposed it was because Jack had been gone for such a long time and Mac didn’t have to interact with him, so now he was a little rusty when it came to internalizing how much he loved him, but he’d have to figure it out. He couldn’t risk Jack finding out, it would make everything so awkward and probably ruin their friendship... unless Juan was right and Jack returned his feelings, but... that seemed unlikely.

“So, I know it’s getting late,” Jack’s voice brought him back to reality. “And you’re probably tired after flying here, but how about I show you around before we call it a day?”

“Sure, I’d like that,” Mac said, and he meant it. As hard as it was to hide how he felt, he’d take all the time with Jack that he could get. They headed outside, and the sun had finally gone down enough that Mac didn’t feel like he was roasting alive. He walked close enough to Jack that he could grab him for support if he wanted to, and they took a walk along the fence line, heading for the stable. Again, it wasn’t as big as the one on Alice’s property, and it was a little shabby, but there was nothing wrong with that. “So Juan said something about you having horses here?”

“I do,” Jack confirmed, and something lit up in his eyes. “Five of them, actually.” He led Mac into the stable and sure enough, there were horses. Jack immediately headed to the last box and Mac followed him, looking around curiously. “Hey, lovely, how have you been today?” Jack said, in a tone of voice usually reserved for Riley. When Mac walked up closer he saw a beautiful horse, almost completely black with the exception of a white spot on its forehead... that kind of reminded Mac of the Delta insignia. When the horse got close enough Jack gently brushed his hand against its mane, smiling softly. “Mac, meet Delta. Kinda my baby around here.”

“She’s gorgeous,” Mac said, and put up a hand for her to sniff. Once she did that he petted her nose, and she watched him with calm dark eyes. “You really happened to buy a ranch with a horse named Delta? What are the chances of that?”

“Don’t know, but this little lady is what sold me on the place,” Jack replied, and they were standing so close together that their arms brushed. “The other four are all great, but she’s my favorite.”

“You don’t say,” Mac teased, petting the horse again. “Not only is she named Delta, she also has that spot on her forehead—”

“That looks just like the insignia, I know,” Jack finished for him, and when Mac looked at him there was a soft smile on Jack’s face. “No idea how that happened, man, but it was... like a sign, you know?”

“Maybe it was,” Mac said, not able to look away from Jack. He looked... happier than before, something at peace in his eyes, and it was in moments like that that Mac remembered how much Jack must have missed Texas while living in LA.

“Hey, what’s with the starin’, man?” Jack asked after a moment, turning to look at Mac with a playful glint in his eyes.

“It’s just... I understand now, how much you must’ve missed things like this,” Mac said, gesturing around them at the stable. “You look... happy.”

“Nah, man, some of it’s that... but mostly I’m just glad I’m not alone,” Jack said quietly, and when he looked at Mac again... just for a second, Mac had to wonder if there was any truth to what Juan said earlier.

Jack looked at him with a soft expression on his face that kind of took Mac’s breath away, but he forced himself not to get lost in Jack’s eyes. “Well, you’re in luck then,” he said, somehow managing to keep his voice steady. “Since I’m not going anywhere. We’ll see how long it takes until you grow sick of me.” Mac was mostly teasing, although there was a small part of him that feared that once Jack got better and got used to living on the ranch again... he may not want Mac around anymore.

“That’s never gonna happen,” Jack murmured, and the way he said it made Mac’s gaze snap to him again.

Before he could question it, however, a sound interrupted their conversation: a meow.

“Uh... Jack?” Mac asked, glancing around with wide eyes. “Do you have a cat?”

“Not that I know of,” Jack said, looking just as surprised. “Uh... here, kitty kitty?”

After a moment the cat meowed somewhere again and then it came out of one of the empty boxes around them. Its fur was mostly gray with some white on its paws and it was watching them warily before slowly walking up to them and rubbing against Jack’s legs with another loud meow. “Well, hello there, tiny fella... or lady,” Jack said, nudging the cat lightly with his leg. After a moment it jumped up on the gate of Delta’s stall, and now that he didn’t have to bend down, Jack scratched the cat behind its ears. It meowed again and started to purr, head-butting Jack’s fingers.

Mac smiled, amused, and managed not to startle when the cat set its sights on him... and jumped on his shoulder. “Whoa, okay,” he said, and chuckled when the cat nuzzled the side of his head. “I think somebody wants out of the stable.”

“I think you’re right,” Jack said, and they both fell silent when they heard another meow. “Okay, what the hell? How many cats are out here?” His question was kind of answered when another cat showed up out of nowhere, this time entirely black. Just like the gray one it came closer, pressing against Mac’s legs before also jumping on the gate... and then immediately on Jack’s shoulder. “What on earth is wrong with those cats?” Jack exclaimed, but Mac didn’t miss the way he smiled, reaching to scratch the cat’s head.

“I think they’ve just been lonely,” Mac said with a small shrug, almost sending the cat flying down to the ground.

“Either that or they’re part bird,” Jack grumbled, but he looked so happy that his grumpy tone wasn’t remotely convincing. They said goodbye to Delta and continued on their walk of the property, the cats eventually hopping off their shoulders to walk ahead of them. “Siegfried and Roy?” Jack said as they passed through a patch of sunflowers that were taller than both of them.

It took Mac a second to realize he was pitching names for the cats. He bent a little to get a look at their undercarriages since they both had their tails up, and he shook his head. “They’re both girls, what about—”

“Thelma and Louise?” they finished in unison, and Mac grinned at Jack, nudging him gently with his elbow. Jack grinned back, that gorgeous grin that made Mac weak at the knees and took his breath away. They reached the end of the sunflowers and from there they had a full view of the ranch and even though it had seen better days, the view was still breathtaking.

“Wow,” Mac said quietly, and when he glanced at Jack he found him watching him with that soft look in his eyes again. “That view is beautiful.”

“It sure is,” Jack agreed, but when Mac glanced over again he wasn’t looking at the fields or watching the sun set behind the trees—he was still watching Mac’s face.

That was enough to make Mac duck his head, cheeks flaming as he wondered what the hell was going on. He cleared his throat and focused on Thelma and Louise (no idea which one was which), who were watching him curiously. “What, um, what did they used to do here? Was it just a cattle ranch, or...?”

“Yeah, mostly,” Jack said, nodding a little. “They also used to have more horses here, used some of ‘em for practicing for the rodeo. The youngest Spencer was a state champion a few times in a row before his mama forced him to give it up. He left to New York after that, never came back. I think they also used to grow some crops here, but the Spencers never had a way with plants so it didn’t really work out.”

“Not sure why, the ground seems fairly fertile,” Mac said absently, and when Jack raised his eyebrows he smiled sheepishly. “My mom liked to garden. I’d sit outside with her, and I was always curious about what she was doing.” He crouched down and dug out a handful of dirt, and that alone was a good sign—it wasn’t too compacted. “Loose but not too loose, good color, and its retaining some moisture even though it hasn’t rained in a few days.” He stood and dusted his hands off, frowning a little. “They should’ve been able to grow anything. There could’ve been a blight, I guess, but there would still be signs of...” He trailed off and looked at Jack, his face heating once more. “You’re staring again.”

Jack smiled at him now, his dark, gorgeous eyes shining happily. “Is there anything you don’t know, man? Stupid question, I know, but...” He shrugged a little. “You never cease to amaze me. Every time I think you won’t surprise me again, you... you have another ace up your sleeve.” Jack looked at him for a moment, tilting his head a little, still smiling. “I don’t remember the last time you blushed so much,” he commented casually, and Mac almost choked.

“It’s just hot,” Mac protested weakly, but Jack didn’t look like he was buying it for a second. They kept walking until the nice level gravel path turned into tire ruts for a tractor—Marisol’s, no doubt—and then they turned around to head back. The view looking at the house was just as nice, and when they were close enough Mac stopped to study it. “Structurally I think this place is fine. I’ll have to take a look, obviously, but it seems like it’s mostly cosmetic. New roof, siding, stuff like that. Oh, and the porch needs to be fixed.”

“Slow down, hoss, would you?” Jack said with a chuckle. “You can start planning it all out tomorrow, the house is not going anywhere.”

Mac supposed that was true, so he took a deep breath and forced himself to relax. The way Jack had been looking at him was still on his mind, but he didn’t know what to think of it, so for now he pushed it away. He noticed that Thelma and Louise followed them to the house and a thought popped into his head. “Hey, you don’t think McClane will eat the cats, right?”

Jack frowned, and before he could respond McClane nudged open the screen door and came out on to the porch to greet them. He stopped when he sees the cats, tilting his head to one side and wagging his tail cautiously. Thelma and Louise looked at him for a moment and then climbed the steps, sniffing at his legs when they got close enough. McClane licked one of them on the head, and then they moved as a group to the door, looking and Mac and Jack expectantly.

Mac burst out laughing. “I guess we don’t need to worry about that. Juan brought some canned tuna from the store, I’ll feed them that.”

“Remind me to tell Juan to pick up some cat food when he’s at the store again, we don’t wanna spoil the brats too much.” Jack grinned before slowly getting up the stairs and nudging McClane with his leg, chuckling when he almost tripped over one of the cats. “Come, furry babies, inside you go. Unless you wanna sleep outside, then by no means don’t let me stop you...”

Jack’s voice faded as he went inside, the animals trotting dutifully behind him, and Mac couldn’t help but smile widely. His heart was also beating a little faster because even the thought of having pets together with Jack was enough to make him go lovesick, and he needed to get a fucking grip. He shut his eyes and took a few more of those deep breaths he tried while he was looking at the house, and it settled him down. He walked up the stairs and went inside, shutting and locking the door behind him, turning out lights as he went.

He heard Jack moving around in the master bedroom so he went to his own room to change, stripping out of his clothes that smelled like stale plane air and dirt and putting on a t-shirt and a pair of boxers. Jack must’ve changed too and he headed to the bathroom next, the floor creaking in time with his steps, so Mac got out his toothbrush and waited for him to be done, sitting on the edge of the platform bed and studying his feet.

“Hey, do you have meds you’re supposed to take?” Mac asked, raising his voice a little so Jack could hear him. “Because I really don’t want to get in that bathroom and find out you’ve been treating your pills like your brace.”

“I’ve been taking the ones I absolutely must,” Jack called out after a moment of silence. “I wasn’t taking the painkillers, they make me feel all fuzzy and you know how much I hate that. Plus painkillers mean no beer and I was kinda in a mood to drink beer a lot.”

Mac scoffed at that because it was an understatement, but at least Jack had been taking _some_ meds, so he couldn’t be really that mad at him. He stood and wandered into the hall just as Jack’s exiting the bathroom. “Fine, but don’t think that means I won’t be watching you,” he warned, and frowned when Jack laughed. “What’s funny?”

“I’m sorry, man, it’s just...” Jack snickered again and waved vaguely in the direction of Mac’s face. “Whenever you try and act all threatening your eyebrows scrunch up... it’s cute.”

Mac’s protest died in his throat, because... what? Did Jack just call him... cute? His internal crisis lasted for about a second before he recovered and rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say man,” he said with a small shrug. “Just don’t be surprised if I gang up on you with our furry children. Or better, I'll call your mom.”

Jack narrowed his eyes. “You wouldn’t.”

“Oh, I absolutely would,” Mac countered, sliding past him into the bathroom and grinning. “Juan added me to the Dalton family group chat. It’s over for you.”

He shut the door on Jack’s protest and cackled when he heard him move down the hall, swearing to himself all the while. Once he was alone Mac’s brain replayed what just happened along with the odd looked Jack had been giving him since he got there, when he thought Mac wasn’t paying attention. It seemed like maybe Juan was right about Jack having more than platonic feelings for Mac... but Jack’s friendship was too important for Mac to risk that not being the case. He still felt like he smelled like an airport so he took a quick shower and after brushing his teeth he headed back to his room. He saw the lights were still on in Jack’s bedroom, so after a moment of hesitation he walked over there, leaning against the doorframe.

“You doing okay?” Mac asked, looking at Jack worriedly as his partner carefully settled on the mattress.

“Yeah, I’m alright,” Jack replied, his voice a little tight. He seemed to have a particular way of getting into bed, no doubt informed by a lot of trial and error, not to mention pain. “Once I’m in bed everything’s fine, it’s just getting in and out that’s the problem.” Finally he was lying down, and a moment later Thelma and Louise brushed past Mac’s legs and climbed up on the bed with him. They each curled into little cat donuts and promptly fell asleep, which made Mac and Jack stare at each other before bursting into muffled laughter.

“Goodnight, Jack,” Mac said softly, and Jack returned the sentiment as Mac walked back to his own room, not surprised in the slightest to find McClane lying on the foot of the bed like he owned it. “Are we gonna need to have a talk about personal space, bud?”

McClane just blinked at him and didn’t move, so Mac sighed and got in the bed, nudging McClane a little so that he could comfortably stretch his legs. He laid in the dark for a moment, thinking about how things had changed in less than a day—that morning he was still in LA and now he was living with Jack on the ranch. Again, he found himself thinking about Jack’s soft glances at him and some of the things he said... and he swallowed down the urge to go back to Jack’s room and call him out on it.

Eventually he curled on his side and closed his eyes, slowly lulled to sleep by McClane’s slow breathing.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Con: This chapter is a little shorter than the others. Pro: THEY FINALLY WORK OUT THEIR SHIT!!! Also you get to meet Marisol, who is _my_ favorite Dalton sibling - I believe Kaja's is Juan, but don't quote me on that. (Also, there's smut in the next chapter, so you have that to look forward to.)

At first Jack wasn’t sure what woke him up. It was still dark outside and if he had to guess he’d say it was around three or four in the morning. He heard a small whine right next to the bed, followed by his mattress dipping a little. “McClane, buddy? What’s up?” Jack muttered, and he carefully reached towards the nightstand to turn on the small lamp.

McClane had his front paws on the mattress and he kept whining, his ears down, and when he saw Jack was awake he went back on the floor and moved to the doorway, whining again. Jack frowned, wondering what was happening and that was when he heard it—a whimper coming from behind the wall.

From Mac’s room.

Jack wanted nothing more than to just fling himself out of bed, but if he did he’d wind up on the floor, writhing in pain—been there, done that. He was cautious as he swings his legs over the side of the mattress and stood, hobbling to the next room with one hand trailing along the wall in case he got a muscle spasm. He gently nudged McClane away once he got into Mac’s room, sighing when he saw the kid all twisted up on himself like a pretzel. He shook a little, and the shine of tears were visible on his cheeks.

“No, Charlie, no,” he whimpered, clawing at himself in his sleep, a sob tearing past his lips. “Please, stop, you don’t have to... sorry, I’m so sorry.”

Jack’s heart broke and even though he was in pain, he still wished he could take on himself all of Mac’s suffering as well. Once again he cursed himself for not being there for Mac when he lost Charlie and Jack swore that if he ever ran into that new psycho that decided breaking Mac was a good idea... that man wouldn’t walk out of it alive, that was for sure. Slowly, Jack hobbled to Mac’s bed and carefully lowered himself on the edge of the mattress.

“Hey, Mac, buddy,” he said quietly, gently touching Mac’s shoulder and hoping he wasn’t about to get punched. “You’re having a nightmare, wake up, kid.”

It took a couple of firm shakes for Mac to come around, but when he did it was in a big way. He sat bolt upright in bed, nearly smacking his face into Jack’s, but thankfully there was no hitting involved—only this haunted, pained sound that made all the hair on Jack’s body stand up. Then Mac curled in on himself, at least until he realized he wasn’t alone. “Jack?” he asked, his voice small and uncertain. “What are you—oh God, did I wake you up? I’m so sorry.”

“Well, technically McClane did and led me to you,” Jack said with a small smile, but it quickly faded when he saw Mac’s blue eyes wide in panic and full of pain. “You have nothin’ to be sorry for.”

Unconsciously, he reached to brush Mac’s hair out of his eyes, only realizing what he was doing once it was too late to stop. Mac didn’t seem to mind though, leaning into the touch and curling into Jack... until he had his face buried in Jack’s neck.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Jack murmured, because what else was he going to do? He finished sliding his hand through Mac’s hair and wrapped his arm around his shoulders, drawing him closer. Normally the feeling of Mac’s warm breath against Jack’s skin would be driving him up the wall, but not when he could also feel wetness from Mac crying. “You wanna talk about it? From what you were saying I’m guessing it was about Charlie?”

Mac’s hands gripped the t-shirt Jack wore and he pressed himself into him, exhaling shakily. “I’m... I was in that building again and Charlie was in the elevator,” Mac whispered, his voice croaking. “I couldn’t save him. Again. I can never save him, Jack, no matter what I do, I can... I can never safe him.” Mac basically sobbed the last part and his breathing sped up and it sounded like he was driving himself into a panic attack.

“Hey, hey, I’ve got you,” Jack tightened both of his arms around Mac, holding him even closer. “It wasn’t your fault, you did your best,” he whispered into Mac’s hair, and god, it was so soft and Jack loved how it tickles his nose. “I know you did, Mac.”

“But my best wasn’t _enough_ ,” Mac whispered, his voice breaking. He was still trembling all over, and Jack felt that he was trying not to lose it, exhaling harshly near Jack’s ear. “And then sometimes I have that dream and it’s not Charlie in the elevator—it’s Riley, or Bozer, or... or you. And I get so fucking _scared_ , terrified that it’s going to happen again, and I hate myself for that. For not being good enough no matter what I do.”

Jack felt himself tear up a little and it took all of his willpower not to kiss the top of Mac’s head. “Mac, there was nothing you could have done,” he whispered, rubbing slow circles between Mac’s shoulder blades with his hand. “If there had been a way to save him, you would’ve found it. Sometimes... things are just out of our control.” He knows it wasn’t a consolation and that nothing would ever bring Charlie back, but he didn’t know what else to say. “And you’re safe here, Mac. He’s not gonna find you here, he’s never gonna hurt you again, I’ll make sure of it. And if I ever run into him...” Jack took a deep breath. “I promise you I will deal with that psycho, my stupid back be damned. I can still use my gun just fine.”

That was enough to earn him a damp chuckle against his shoulder, and Mac’s tight grasp on his shirt lessened just a little. McClane chose that moment to hop up on the bed, whining in the back of his throat and nudging at Mac until he could get close enough to lick his face.

“Jesus, dog, get a grip!” Jack exclaimed, although he wasn’t really annoyed—he hadn’t had a dog since he was a kid, and it was... nice, to be able to share something like this with Mac. Slowly, reluctantly, he slid his arms off Mac’s body and started the arduous process of standing up. “Well, I guess I’d better mosey on back to bed—the sun ain’t even up yet.”

Long fingers wrapped around one of his wrists, stopping Jack in his tracks, and when he glanced over at Mac, he saw something uncertain in those gorgeous blue eyes. “Jack, would you... could you stay? Please?”

“Yeah, of course,” Jack heard himself say before he even knew he was talking.

Mac seemed to relax a little, and he looked so much younger like that, with his hair messed up and one arm wrapped around McClane who was now snuggled against his chest. Gently, Mac nudged him away until the dog moved away to the foot of the bed, and Jack realized McClane wasn’t going anywhere. Mac let go of his wrist and Jack slowly laid down, exhaling in relief when he was finally flat on his back, and he felt more than saw Mac lay down as well right next to him.

Mac was close enough that Jack felt it every time he breathes, along with the sticky warmth radiating off his body. “Thank you, Jack,” he murmured, trying and failing to hide a yawn. He curled in on his side facing Jack and before he could so much as think about replying, Mac was out like a light.

Jack sighed and glanced down at McClane, nudging him with his foot. “We’re real screwed, aren’t we?” he asked the dog, who looked at him in a way that suggested he was on his own. “Ah hell, everybody’s a critic.”

He shut his eyes, and thankfully sleep came easily again for Jack, too.

~***~

When Jack woke up for the second time it was already bright outside and the sun was shining through the window in Mac’s room. It was a little hard to breathe and after a moment Jack realized it was because one of the cats—the black one, Jack decided this one was Thelma—was curled up on his chest. Other than that he was alone in the bed, no Mac or McClane anywhere in the room. Jack wasn’t too worried, he knew they probably weren’t far—and maybe it was for the best, because Jack wasn’t sure he would be able to hide his feelings if he woke up in bed with Mac. He gently nudged Thelma away and slowly started the painful process of getting up, groaning quietly when he finally stood up on his feet.

He went to the bathroom to quickly brush his teeth and once he came out he heard Mac’s voice from a kitchen... and a woman laughing, and Jack immediately knew who Mac was with. Marisol was the only girl in the family and easily the toughest of the Dalton siblings. She was actually only a year or so older than Mac and she charmed just about everybody she met with her big green eyes and Texas twang. When Jack managed to gimp out into the kitchen he smelled pancakes and saw Marisol at the stove, manning it expertly as Mac regaled her with a story about something stupid he and Jack did.

“And then he started shooting the balloons!” Mac exclaimed, and Marisol laughed again, tossing her head back, long brown hair brushing her shoulders.

She was still giggling when she saw Jack in the doorway and pointed at him with the spatula. “It lives! Long time no see, Jacky! I was starting to wonder if you were dead in there.”

Jack grumbled under his breath before walking up to her and kissing her cheek. “Hey, little monster.” He only grinned when she punched him in the shoulder (much lighter than she usually would have) and ignoring her protests—he know she still loved when he called her that. “When did you get here? You should’ve woken me up.” Jack gave Mac a pointed look, but he just smiled innocently, blinking those stupidly blue eyes.

“We’ve been hanging out for a little bit,” Marisol said, winking in Mac’s direction. “You haven’t missed much, Jacky. Mac’s just been telling me about some of your misadventures.”

Jack remembered absently that this was the first time Marisol had met Mac in person—the last couple times Jack brought him around she was in Dallas for cattle auctions. “Well I’m glad you two are getting along,” Jack said, and when Marisol shot a big Dalton grin in Mac’s direction, Jack cleared his throat. “Is there coffee?”

“Yep—I even brought you a real machine,” Marisol told him.

A moment later Mac handed Jack a steaming mug of coffee, their fingers brushing as it changed hands. Jack managed to suppress the shiver that threatened to run through his body because of that touch. A plate of pancakes appeared in front of him as soon as he sat down at the table, but he barely noticed because Marisol set another plate in front of Mac, grinning at him again, and Jack _knew_ that grin.

“Oh, hang on, I should probably check my phone to see if it blew up already,” Mac said with a smile, getting up and disappearing down the hall leading to the bedrooms.

“So, Jacky,” Marisol’s voice sounded right next to Jack and he turned to look at her. “Heard you two are gonna live here now.” Jack only nodded, shoving a bite of a pancake to his mouth... and he choked when Marisol spoke again: “Is Mac single by the way?”

Jack felt a rush of jealousy that burned through him like fire, but he forced himself to tamp it down. Marisol was a fantastic woman... and it wasn’t like Mac was interested in him, not that way. Hell, yesterday Jack called him _cute_ and he didn’t even bat an eyelash. “I, uh, I don’t know,” he said, coughing a little to dislodge some food stuck in his throat. “I think so? You’d have to ask him.”

Marisol stared at him for a minute and then grinned again, but this time it was mischievous, not flirty. “Oh my God, Jacky! You have a crush on him, don’t you?”

Jack forced himself to use all of his acting skills that saved his ass many times during the undercover missions. “What? Don’t be ridiculous, Mari,” he said, rolling his eyes. “He’s your age.” God, he really was, somehow Jack hadn’t realized that before—he was just a creepy old man, wasn’t he? Truth to be told, he wasn’t lying to Marisol… he didn’t have a crush on Mac, he was completely in love with him and that was different.

“Age ain’t nothing but a number, Jacky,” Marisol crooned, reaching over to pinch his cheek and snickering when he slapped her hand away. Her mouth settled into a smirk as she filled her own plate with pancakes. “What, you’re saying you won’t mind if I turn on the old Dalton charm and shoot my shot?”

Before Jack could reply, Mac came back in the midst of checking his phone. “So Bozer and Leanna should be here by tomorrow night,” he said, sliding into his chair. “And Riley is pissed that I didn’t call her yesterday so she and Desi commandeered one of the Phoenix jets and they’ll be here this afternoon.”

Jack groaned loudly and buried his face in his hands. “There’s still time to get out of here, maybe we should consider it,” he mumbled, and Mac just laughed in response, that pretty bright laugh that Jack loved so much. He was happy to see everyone, Riley especially, he missed her—but he just hoped for some more time alone with Mac and he knew that once the gang got there it would be like a circus. Plus Marisol was about to steal Mac from him, so it looked like Jack’s life sucked entirely at the moment.

“Oh, I’ll have to tell Mama, we can get everybody over here for a big dinner tomorrow night,” Marisol declared, a gleam in her eyes. “So how are the pancakes?”

“They’re great,” Mac told her with a smile, and she beamed back at him while Jack sort of wanted to puke. “Oh, and Jack? Riley did send me a recommendation for a doctor in Dallas, and we’re going to see him this afternoon.” He reached over and clamped a hand on Jack’s shoulder so he couldn’t push his chair back and make a run for it, then looked at Marisol. “Would you mind driving us? I have a feeling I’ll need to sit on him to keep him from rolling out of the car while it’s moving.”

“Sure, I can do that,” Marisol agreed, clearly amused. “You should definitely get a second opinion, Jacky—you’re the one who’s always telling me how bad government doctors are.”

“That’s because it’s true,” Jack said, glaring at Mac a little, but he only smiled wider in response. As they ate Mac and Marisol started talking again, about the ranch, about the town, about everything really, and Jack could see how smitten Marisol was—not that he could blame her. But he also couldn’t stand this any longer and thankfully McClane showed up. Slowly, he stood up and after putting his plate in the sink he scratched the dog’s head. “Hey, bud, you wanna head outside, check how the horses are doing?” He forced his voice to sound cheerful and he hoped it was convincing as McClane wagged his tail. “Let’s go then.”

~***~

Getting out into the fresh air was a relief, and once he was away from Mac and Mari’s chatter Jack turned his face up toward the sun and just breathed it in. He wasn’t thrilled at the prospect of going into the city to get poked and prodded some more, but at the same time he knew Mac wouldn’t give up until he saw another doctor, so it was no use fighting him. He walked down the path to the barn with McClane trotting along at his side and smiled a little when he noticed all the horses had been fed, watered, and had their stalls mucked—either Juan was there already, or Marisol and Mac did it before Jack woke up.

He went in to see Delta, patting her soft velvety nose. “Wish I had horse problems instead of people ones, girl,” he told her, and she snuffled his hand in response.

He gently petted her for a while, wishing he could hop on and take her out for a ride, but it would be a while before he was able to do that. His mind kept coming back to Marisol and Mac, and while he didn’t see that look on Mac face that he always got when he liked someone, it was probably only a matter of time. He swallowed hard when he imagined how... difficult it would be if Mac and Marisol became a thing, and he knew he was being selfish... but he couldn’t help it.

“Hey, you okay?” Mac’s voice behind him made him jump and that only proved he was far from his greatest form if he missed Mac sneaking up on him. When he turned around Mac was watching him carefully, concern shining in his eyes. “You took off pretty abruptly.”

Jack tried on a reassuring smile and it felt stiff on his mouth. “I’m fine, man,” he told him, leaning up against the gate to Delta’s stall. “Just not looking forward to this doctor’s appointment, that’s all.”

“Okay,” Mac said, stretching out the word like he didn’t believe Jack was telling him the whole truth—which of course he wasn’t. He mirrored Jack’s pose on the stall opposite, which belonged to a big tan stud named Peanut Butter. “Marisol seems... nice. Comes on strong, though.”

Jack immediately hated himself for the little spark of hope he felt that maybe Mac wasn’t interested in Mari, and god, he was awful, wasn’t he? Mac was amazing and so was Marisol, he should’ve wanted only happiness for both of them and instead he was being a selfish coward. “Oh?”

Mac tilted his head like he always did when he thought about something. He also bit his lower lip (driving Jack absolutely crazy) and after a moment he blurted out: “Are you going to beat me up if I turn down your sister?”

Jack snorted. “Pretty sure I couldn’t beat up an old lady right now, hoss,” he pointed out, then frowned. “And no, I’m not gonna beat you up for that... but why?” As much as it would kill Jack to see Mac with his sister, she was a fantastic woman and she deserved to be happy. “Mari’s great.”

“She is,” Mac agreed quickly, holding his hands up in placation. “It’s just... remember how I told you I turned Desi down? Well... I still have feelings for that other person.”

“That’s fair.” Jack nodded, ignoring the feeling of a thousand needles piercing his heart. “Who... who is she? Someone I haven’t met I’m guessing.”

“It’s... it’s a he, actually,” Mac replied, fiddling nervously with his fingers, and Jack was proud of himself for not letting his jaw drop. “And I’m... I’m pretty sure he doesn’t feel the same way, although there are moments when I think that... he might,” he said quietly, looking at the ground before looking up at Jack with... _something_ in his eyes.

Jack swallowed hard, because as much as he wished Mac was talking about him, he couldn’t be... right? “Who is this guy? You want me to knock some sense into him? Or maybe just shoot him, since we’ve established I can’t really beat anyone up.”

“I wouldn’t want you to shoot yourself,” Mac replied, and then froze like a deer caught in headlights. Jack froze too, because there was no way he heard him right, this had to be a mistake... but then Mac continued speaking, a frantic edge to his voice: “Jack, I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have... I can leave. I’m sure Marisol can take you to your appointment and I’ll be gone by the time you get back.”

Jack pushed himself off the gate to Delta’s stall and crossed the distance between them, moving faster than he had in days. He ignored the pain in his back and once he reached Mac, Jack just... pushed him against the gate, a little harder than he planned, and then he crashed their lips together in a hard kiss, both of his hands gripping Mac’s hips. Mac made a shocked sound in the back of his throat but he returned the kiss nonetheless, his hands coming up to frame Jack’s face, thumbs running over his cheekbones.

When Jack ran his tongue over Mac’s bottom lip he opened up for him without hesitation, and the kiss only got warmer and wetter and deeper, with Jack leaning forward until their bodies were pressed together. The gate to Peanut Butter’s stall creaked ominously, and the horse himself whinnied in their ears. They break apart, both because of that and because they needed to breathe, but Jack didn’t move an inch, entranced by the freckles scattered across the bridge of Mac’s nose and the way he held Jack’s face, like he was touching something precious.

“I love you, darlin’,” Jack whispered, watching Mac’s eyes go wide. “I love you so damn much.”

“You... you do?” Mac whispered in this small, vulnerable voice that he only ever used if it was just him and Jack. Jack nodded, wanting to reassure him, but before he could open his mouth to speak Mac wrapped his arms around his neck and pulled him in a tight hug. “I love you too,” he whispered, and he sounded like he was on the verge of crying, his lips brushing against Jack’s neck as he spoke. “I love you too, Jack.”

Jack pressed his face against Mac’s hair and breathed him in, the smell of sunshine just like home. “We’re idiots,” he muttered near Mac’s ear, and smiled when Mac laughed weakly. He pulled back far enough to see Mac’s face and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. He brought a hand up to rest on the side of Mac’s neck, thumb stroking over his jaw, and he wrapped his other arm around Mac’s waist. “Why didn’t you tell me, baby? I wasn’t exactly being subtle, especially yesterday.”

“I’m... I only noticed yesterday, but... I was so convinced it was impossible that I figured I was seeing things,” Mac said. “I didn’t even believe it when Juan told me.” Jack’s jaw dropped open this time and Mac smiled a little. “Oh yeah, he called me out on being in love you and said you feel the same way. Apparently we’re both equally subtle and blind. But yeah, despite all that I was... so sure you could never feel the same way. I mean, why would you?” He shrugged a little, saying it so casually, and Jack suddenly realized that Mac actually thought he was nothing special.

“Hey, you listen to me,” Jack said sternly, and his tone must’ve surprised Mac because his gaze snapped up to Jack’s again. He softened his voice slightly for his next words, but they were still full of conviction. “You are the smartest, funniest, most selfless person I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing. Why else would I have been willing to just stay friends with you instead of trying for something more? You’re everything to me, Mac, and I was terrified of losing you.” He sighed. “And then when I got hurt, I figured I’d lost you anyway. Too much time apart, and then an injury like this? Why would you want anything to do with me?”

“Because I love you,” Mac said quietly, and the soft look in his blue eyes took Jack’s breath away. “Because _you_ are _my_ everything and I’d do anything for you. Even when I didn’t know you felt the same way and thought we’d only ever be friends... being near you was all I wanted.” He brushed the back of Jack’s neck with his fingers, stroking his short hair. “I don’t ever wanna be away from you again.”

Something in Jack’s chest twisted painfully when he heard those words, and he pulled Mac in to kiss him again, slow and soft. “Okay, darlin’,” he whispered, and felt Mac smile against his mouth. “By the way, Marisol figured it out too. She had the hots for you up until she realized I was already pining after you, and I’m pretty sure she’d cook up a scheme to get us together if we let her.”

“If she figured it out and you knew... then why did you run out of there like your ass was one fire?” Mac asked with a small smile, bringing his hands up to rest them on Jack’s neck, so that he could rub his jaw with his thumbs. “It was smart, using McClane as the excuse to go outside, but I think I know you too well.”

“You really do,” Jack said, smiling back, leaning into Mac’s touch. “And I left because... well, I thought that just because you weren’t interested in Desi didn’t mean you wouldn’t be interested in my sister. And since I didn’t think there was a hope in hell that you had feelings for me...” He shrugged, threading both arms around Mac’s middle to hold him close. “I had to get out of there in case you decided to start smooth talking her.”

“Oh yeah, because I’m such a smooth talker,” Mac snorted, his smile widening. “I think you’re confusing me with yourself, babe.” Jack heart jumped and he felt all warm inside when he heard the endearment and from the way Mac blushed it seemed he didn’t mean to say it. Now that Jack thought about it, he didn’t remember Mac being into pet names even when he was with Nikki. “You know I awkward I usually am.”

“You’re not awkward, you’re just...” Mac gave him a look, and Jack grinned sheepishly. “Okay, you’re a little awkward, but it’s endearing as hell, like most of the things you do.” He pressed a kiss to the corner of Mac’s mouth. “Now, since we’ve figured all this out and you’re dragging me to the doctor later... you wanna help me take a shower? Because it’s entirely possible that I haven’t had one since I got debriefed.”

Mac wrinkled his nose and it was the most adorable thing Jack had ever seen. “I kinda figured,” Mac said with a grin, but he didn’t pull back even though Jack was sure he didn’t smell very nice. Mac leaned in again and kissed Jack’s cheek, nuzzling his stubble, and then he grabbed his hand. “Come on then. But you’re the one telling your sister I like you more than her.”

Jack rolled his eyes but he smiled. “Oh sure, throw me under the bus five minutes into our relationship,” he lamented, and his smile only grew when Mac laughed.

They went back to the house and left McClane to chase butterflies in the yard, and as soon as Marisol saw them holding hands she squealed and ran up to Jack, giving him a big hug while staying mindful of his injury. “Oh, Jacky, I’m so happy for you! But I’m also super jealous,” she said, pulling back enough to smack him on the shoulder. “Mac’s so cute, why’d you have to go and take that away from me?”

Mac blushed prettily and he was so cute that Jack melted a little. “Oh, he’s the cutest, no argument here,” he said, squeezing Mac’s hand when he blushed even more. “Hands off, sis, I found him first so I have dibs.”

“Not fair!” Mari exclaimed, but she was smiling, her green eyes glinting happily.

Mac cleared his throat, his face red like a tomato. “Jack needs a shower if we’re taking him to the doctor, he stinks,” he declared, and Jack had to stifle a laugh at how flustered he looked.

Marisol raised an eyebrow. “And I assume you’re volunteering to help him with that?” she asked, laughing when Mac went from red to purple. “I’ll go take your new dog for a walk, seems like he could use it. Plus I don’t want to listen to your sexcapades.”

“No, we’re not—he’s not—we’re not gonna—” Mac sputtered, his eyes wide, and Jack almost felt sorry for him. “He’s injured!”

“Oh please.” Marisol gives him a wolffish grin, one that people who don’t know her often underestimate. “Like that’s gonna stop him from getting his hands all over you.” She patted Jack’s cheek and then she was gone, heading out the door and clapping in McClane’s direction. “C’mon, boy, let’s go for a walk!”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FIRST SMUT SCENE AHOY! But also some ~*serious doctor stuff*~! Enjoy!

As soon as Marisol was out of earshot Jack wrapped Mac up in his arms and laughed, kissing the side of his head. “You’re so fucking adorable,” he told him, and only laughed again when Mac smacked his bicep.

“You won’t think I’m adorable when I drown you in the shower,” Mac threatened, and Jack shoved him toward the bathroom in retaliation.

“Remember what I told you yesterday? About you looking like a puppy when you try to be threatening? Yeah, that still applies.” Jack laughed more when Mac punched his shoulder, grumbling something under his breath. “Besides you’d miss me too much.”

Mac glared at him for a moment before nodding a little, his eyes still narrowed as they stumbled into the bathroom. “I guess.” Getting out of the back brace was much easier with Mac’s help, and so was tugging Jack’s shirt up and over his head.

It was the first opportunity Mac had to really see his back, and his eyes went wide as he took in all the swelling around his spine, the way his whole back was pretty much black and blue. “God, Jack,” he whispered, his touch incredibly light as he ran his fingertips over the area. “Does this hurt as bad as it looks?”

“Probably,” Jack admitted, because he hadn’t really seen the damage himself but he knew it didn’t look good. “Didn’t help that I wasn’t wearing the brace like I was supposed to.”

Mac inhaled audibly and exhaled slowly, and Jack braced himself for a lecture or yelling. “We’ve already talked about it and I’ve already told you how dumb that was, so I’m not gonna tell you again,” he said calmly, but he gave Jack a pointed look. “Good thing I got here relatively quickly, or you could’ve really hurt himself. I can’t leave you alone even for five minutes, huh?”

Jack wanted to reply but he was a little distracted by Mac taking his own shirt off. Mac let out a surprised yelp when Jack grabbed on to him as soon as the shirt was gone, tugging him in for a kiss. “God, you’re gorgeous,” he muttered against Mac’s lips, reveling in the fact that not only did he get to see all that tan skin and lean muscle, but he got to touch it too.

He ran one hand up Mac’s back into his hair and kissed him again, slipping in a little tongue this time and smiling when Mac shivered and presses forward so their chests were touching. Mac’s arm circled his neck and he parted his lips, inviting Jack to deepen the kiss even more. Jack did and he tugged on Mac’s hair, just to see... and Mac whined brokenly into his mouth and pressed himself even closer. Intrigued by the reaction Jack pulled on his hair again and slid his other hand down Mac back, slipping it into the back pocket of his jeans.

“Mhmm, stop that,” Mac mumbled, but if the way he clung tighter to Jack and nipped at his lower lip was any indication that was the opposite of what he wanted. “Jack, _shower_.”

Jack groaned and pulled back, albeit reluctantly, and they both divested themselves of their shoes and pants. Then they crammed into the shower together, which was... interesting considering the lack of space. Mac turned on the water and it warmed up quickly, filling the room with steam... and then in direct contradiction of what he just said, Mac kissed Jack again, lacing his fingers at the small of his back below the bruising.

“I thought you wanted to stop,” Jack muttered against his lips, but he wasn’t complaining at all and he happily kissed Mac back.

“Wanted to get in the shower,” Mac mumbled, nipping on Jack’s lip again.

Jack groaned and wrapped his arms around Mac’s waist, pulling him even closer, and he immediately slid one of his hands to Mac’s ass, squeezing it playfully and swallowing the moan Mac let out. “I’ve literally had dreams about that ass of yours,” Jack murmured, and after a moment he slipped his fingers into Mac’s ass crack and pressed them against his entrance.

Mac jolted a little at the intimate touch, but not in a bad way—in fact, he was all but straddling Jack’s thigh. He backed up until his back hit the wall of the shower and Jack’s weight pinned him there, which had the added benefit of letting the water massage Jack’s beat up back. Mac wriggled and grabbed Jack’s wrist, pulling his hand off his ass... and he broke the kiss so he could bring it up to his mouth. He kept eye contact with Jack as he pushed two of his fingers past his lips, sucking them into tight wet warmth.

“Oh sweet Jesus,” Jack groaned, unable to look away, his gaze trained on Mac’s lips wrapped around his fingers.

When he looked into Mac’s eyes they were darker than he’d ever seen them, and he most certainly never thought Mac would be looking like that at _him_. He didn’t get much time to think about it though, because his brain shut off when he felt Mac suck harder at his fingers, his tongue circling them slowly as Mac watched Jack with desire shining in his gorgeous eyes. Once Jack’s fingers were thoroughly coated in spit, Mac pulled off of them with an obscene sound. He used his grip on Jack’s wrist to guide his hand back down to Mac’s ass, then returned to kissing Jack like he never did anything out of the ordinary.

“Go ahead,” Mac whispered, and Jack’s knees felt weak like it was his first time all over again.

Slowly, he used his index finger to circle Mac’s entrance before pushing it inside, shuddering when Mac sighs into his mouth and moves a hand to Jack’s hip, squeezing hard. Mac’s incredulously hot and tight around his finger and Jack groaned a little as he started moving it in and out. Mac moaning into his mouth, kissing him hungrily, and after a moment Jack added a second finger, swallowing the deep sounds Mac made. He also pressed his thigh between Mac’s legs, grinding against Mac’s hard cock and pinning him to the wall again, groaning when his own cock pressed against Mac’s hip. He scissored his fingers slowly, stretching Mac more carefully, not wanting to hurt him since they were using just Jack’s spit instead of lube.

Mac didn’t seem to mind the slight burn of Jack’s fingers stretching him if the way he pushed back against the pressure was any indication. Jack’s fingers found his prostate and he cried out, hips twitching between the muscle of Jack’s thigh and the way Jack rubbed his fingertips over his sweet spot a few more times, just to see what happened. “Jack, oh, please,” he moaned, his other hand coming up to grip Jack’s bicep. “Please... touch me.”

The way Mac moaned his name goes straight to Jack’s already rock hard dick, and he trailed his lips to Mac’s ear. “Whatever you want, baby,” he murmured, nipping on the lobe and moving his lips to Mac’s neck, wrapping his fingers around Mac’s cock.

Mac moaned brokenly, clearly torn between thrusting into Jack’s hand and pushing against his fingers, and then cried out a little when Jack sucked a bruise into his skin. At the same time Jack bit on Mac’s collarbone, pushed his fingers deeper and gave Mac a firmer stroke, and the sound Mac let out, that desperate high pitched moan... Jack needed to hear it again as many times as he could. His nails dug into Jack’s skin, and he thrusted forward into Jack’s grip in time with the stroked over his cock. His breathing quickened until it was nothing but ragged gasps, and then he let out a long, broken cry and came hard, his forehead dropping to Jack’s shoulder as Jack worked him through it. He whimpered when Jack’s fingers brushed his prostate again, his softened cock twitching feebly in Jack’s grasp.

Watching Mac fall apart like that was probably the hottest thing Jack had ever seen. Mac whined a little when Jack slipped his fingers out of him and he also let go of his cock, letting the water clean his hand before he wrapped his arms around Mac. He was still rock hard, but he could wait. “You okay?” he murmured into Mac’s hair who was slumped against him, still panting against his shoulder.

Mac grunted in a way that was almost words, and he slid his arm around Jack’s waist to return his embrace. “That... was amazing,” he breathed out against Jack’s skin, curling in closer to kiss the side of his neck. His other hand slid in between their bodies, and a moment later he wrapped his fingers around Jack’s cock, groaning a little when he got a feel for his size. “God, you’re big,” he said, mouthing over Jack’s throat and jacking him slowly. “Next time I want you inside me.”

The image of Mac spread out underneath him while Jack fucked him senseless flashed through Jack’s mind, making him shudder. “Fuck, yes,” he groaned, and then he gasped when Mac tightened his grip around his cock and started stroking him faster. “God, baby, your hands,” he whimpered a little when Mac twisted his wrist, and he buried his face in Mac’s neck, breathing heavily. Jack slid his hands up Mac’s back to grip his shoulders from behind and he kept thrusting into Mac’s grasp, his fingernails digging into Mac’s skin. “Fuck, baby, yes, oh god, yes,” he groaned, and he let out a broken moan when Mac’s other hand slid down to grope his ass.

All it took was another twist of Mac’s wrist and the barest brush of one of those long fingers against his entrance for Jack to fall over the edge. “You’re so hot, oh my God,” Mac said against his cheek, licking his way into Jack’s mouth and kissing him lazily. Jack just tried to catch his breath, his vision still white at the edges, hanging on to Mac so he didn’t fall on his face. Mac rinsed his hand off after he let go of Jack’s cock, then leaned back to look at him, bringing both hands up to hold his face. “You okay?”

“You fucking kidding me? I’m fantastic,” Jack muttered, turning his head and kissing one of Mac’s wrists. “I love you so much,” he whispered and leaned in, pressing his lips to Mac’s again. They kissed slowly for a moment, holding each other close, and Jack only pulled back when breathing becomes necessary, giving Mac a few short parting kisses. “So I know you just moved into the pink room and unpacked your stuff...” he started, nuzzling Mac’s cheek. “But I hope you know that you’re not sleeping in your bed tonight. Or ever again.”

Mac chuckled. “That sounded vaguely threatening,” he pointed out, but he was smiling, his eyes sparkling with happiness. “But honestly, I wouldn’t be opposed to being in your bed and not sleeping. Or, you know, getting tied down to it.”

Jack’s eyebrows rose in surprise, but his hands gripped Mac tighter. “I could get on board with that,” he told him, giving Mac another kiss and feeling a twinge go up his back. “Maybe once I can bend over without screaming.”

“Mhmm, you bending over would certainly be a nice thing to see,” Mac mused, and Jack’s eyes widened a little, because Mac saying things like that... that was new and Jack loved it.

Now he couldn’t stop thinking about Mac being _tied to his bed_ and spread out for him while Jack fucked him senseless. “Never knew this side of you,” Jack murmured, smirking a little and pulling Mac closer to kiss the corner of his mouth. “Have to say, I’m a huge fan.”

Mac turned his head enough that they wound up kissing for real, again, because apparently they couldn’t help themselves. “What, did you figure I’d be super vanilla?” Mac asked, and they finally broke apart enough for Jack to actually shower, using shampoo and soap for the first time in way too long.

“No, I... well, I don’t know what I thought beyond a lot of dirty dreams,” Jack admitted, and that made Mac snort.

“You’d have to share some of these dreams with me,” Mac said with a smirk before turning Jack around and gently helping him with washing his back, his touch feather light. “Anything in particular you dreamed about?” Mac continued, sounding so casual, as if they were talking about the weather. “Because when it comes to you... there’s not much I’d say no too.”

“Jesus, Mac, you can’t just say shit like that,” Jack lamented, but he was smiling, enjoying the feeling of Mac’s hands on his skin. They weren’t as rough as his own but Mac did have some callouses and scars, the hands of a scientist who was always working on something. “Just pretty basic stuff I guess... me fucking you, but sometimes it’s the other way around.”

“Well, I think if we’re telling each other about our dirty dreams, you can probably call me Angus,” Mac said, still so damn calm, his lips brushing the top of Jack’s shoulder in a kiss. “Trust me, I’ve had my fair share too.”

Jack barely heard that last part because he kind of froze in shock when Mac mentioned calling him by his name. “I’m... you...” Jack started, but the words weren’t coming, so after a few seconds he tried again, “You’re... you sure? About your name?”

“Yeah, of course,” Mac murmured, kissing Jack shoulder again and this time also nipping it teasingly. “Wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t.”

“I’m... yeah, sure, okay.” Jack’s mind was still spinning, but he forced himself to focus. “So... anything interesting in your dreams, darlin’?”

“Whenever you’re in them? Always,” Mac said, and he stepped around so he was in front of Jack, wrapping his arms around his neck. “Sometimes all I dream about is us hanging out and watching _Die Hard_ , if I’m being honest.” Jack laughed at that, but Mac’s eyes were soft and full of affection. “I really missed you, Jack. Not just because I wanted this, but because you’re such a huge part of my life.”

Jack’s heart cracked when he heard that and he rested his hands on Mac’s hips. “I missed you too, every damn day. There were moments when I was searching for you, or try to tell you to stay down... only you weren’t there.” Jack sighed a little, knowing it was his own damn fault. “Maybe I... maybe I should’ve brought you with me. But that mission was so dangerous and I... if anything had happened to you, I would’ve never forgiven myself.”

Mac’s fingertips stroked over the short hair at the base of Jack’s skull, and that simple little touch was enough to make Jack’s insides feel like jelly in the best possible way. “Our lives are dangerous, Jack—my whole deal in the army was walking toward bombs, remember? If there’s anything I’ve learned from working without you for almost a year, and from you getting this injury... it’s that things are less dangerous when we’re together. Or maybe not less dangerous, but at least we’re better prepared for them?”

He kissed Jack’s cheek and reaches back to turn off the water, pushing the shower curtain aside to grab them both a towel. Luckily Mama had left a few big boxes of stuff she no longer needed over at the house when Jack first arrived, or they’d be air-drying—which Jack wouldn’t mind, except he knew Mari’s around somewhere. They towel off, and Jack went into his room to get dressed, joined a moment later by Mac, still wrapped in his towel and carrying his open suitcase full of stuff.

Thelma and Louise were both on the windowsill and turned to watch this new development with interest, and Mac raised an eyebrow at them before saying to Jack, “Do you kinda get the feeling that they might be plotting to kill us?”

“Maybe, but it’s not like they’re gonna act on it, right?” Jack said, walking up to the windowsill and petting the cats. They both purred and arched into his touch and Jack smiled. “That’s right, you’re just tiny furry sweethearts, aren’t you? Of course you are.” He didn’t realize he started speaking in a baby voice until he heard Mac snort behind him and when he turned around Mac was watching him with amusement. “What? I like animals, sue me.”

Mac grinned. “Nothing, I just... it’s adorable.”

Jack rolled his eyes fondly, petting the cats one last time before walking back to Mac and wrapping his arms around him. He hooked his fingers over the towel that was wrapped around Mac’s hips and toyed with it, pressing his lips to Mac’s cheek and then grazing his jaw with his teeth. “Am I adorable now?”

“You’re always adorable,” was Mac’s response, his arms coming up to drape over Jack’s shoulders. He leaned into Jack’s touch like it was the easiest thing in the world, and that... that blew Jack’s mind, just a little. “Sometimes adorable gets mixed with other things, that’s all.”

“I don’t know, Mac,” a familiar voice said from behind them, making them both jump and twist apart. It was Desi, leaning against the door jamb, grinning like it was her birthday and Christmas rolled into one. “‘Adorable’ and ‘Jack’ aren’t necessarily words I’d put in the same sentence.”

“You’re here early,” Mac managed to choke out, while Jack was still trying to make sure his heart was functional. There was a warmth to Mac’s tone that he reserved for close friends—for family—and it was nice to hear that Desi had managed to elevate herself to that status. “And this reminds me a little too much of our first meeting.”

“Wait, what?” Jack asked with a frown as Desi cackled and Mac blushed prettily.

“You know me, I like to make an entrance,” Desi said with a grin before walking up to him and giving him a gentle hug, much gentler than usually. “Good to see you in one piece, Jack.” She raised her eyebrow, looking between Mac and Jack with a smirk. “I guess now I know who that person you had feelings for is, Mac.”

Mac rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. “Yeah, I guess you do. Apparently everybody else figured it out before we did.”

“Yeah, Marisol was telling me all about it before I drew the short straw and had to come in to get you guys,” Desi said, and reached over to smack Mac on the ass. “Now get dressed! Riley and Mari are already in the car! If you don’t hurry up we’ll be late for your doctor’s appointment.”

She turned and left, and Mac shook his head a little, his smile only getting bigger. “If that woman put her mind to it she could take over a small country in a day,” he said, and dug through his mangled suitcase in search of clothes. “Less time if Riley did it with her.”

“Mhmm,” Jack replied, too distracted by Mac tossing the towel aside to get dressed. God, he really did have a fantastic ass, and it was all Jack’s now.

“Hey, Jack, my eyes are up here,” Mac voice made Jack’s head snap up and he saw Mac grinning at him as he buttoned up his shirt. He threw on a pair of pants as well before coming closer and kissing Jack’s cheek. “Come on, or she’ll be back. And we can explore your fascination with my ass later.”

Jack groaned loudly but let Mac lead him outside and then Riley jumped out of the car and ran in in their direction, stopping right in front of Jack as if she wanted to throw herself on him, but then remembered his injury. He felt tears prick his eyes and opened his arms. “Come here, baby girl.” When she stepped in to hug him, he folded her into his embrace and squeezed her tight. “I’m so sorry, Riley.”

“You should be,” Riley muttered against his shoulder, and sniffled a little. She pulled back enough to look at him, a stray tear rolling down her cheek. “Did you really think we wouldn’t want you around anymore because you got hurt?”

“I admit, I wasn’t really thinking... clearly,” Jack said, and Riley chuckled wetly before giving him another short hug.

Mac watched them with a soft smile on his face and once Riley pulled away they all walked to the car. Marisol was already behind the wheel and she opened the window to grin mischievously at Mac. “See, I told you his back wouldn’t stop Jacky from having his way with you.”

Poor Mac blushed _again_ and makes a choked sound, and if Marisol kept this up Jack would have to teach Mac a few tricks regarding dealing with his sister—and by that he meant letting Mac on a few secrets that all Dalton brothers used as blackmail.

Desi was in the passenger’s seat, sunglasses on, and she grinned at them too. “Damn, Jack, why didn’t you ever tell me how fun your family was?”

“Because I was afraid you’d fit right in,” Jack said dryly, as he and Mac and Riley piled into the backseat. It was a little uncomfortable having to sit up so straight to ride in the car, but the brace did help… much to Jack’s chagrin.

~***~

The drive to Dallas took about three hours and the doctor’s office was in Baylor Medical Center, which was at the heart of downtown. As soon as Jack was checked in he got handed a raft of paperwork to complete, and Mac wordlessly took the clipboard from him and started filling it out.

“Isn’t that cute,” Marisol commented. “It’s like you guys are already married.”

“Oh, you have no idea,” Riley said with a grin. “This is nothing.”

Mac didn’t say anything, only continued to work on the paperwork, and Jack wondered if the comments actually bothered him. He’d have to ask later. “Mhmm, hey, Mari?” Jack asked before Riley could start telling any stories, figuring it was time to save Mac from the claws of his sister and basically daughter. “Since you’re all about cute maybe you should tell us about Storm?” Storm was Mari’s horse when they were kids and it always scared easily and some of Mari’s rides ended... badly.

Marisol narrowed her eyes and glared at him. “You wouldn’t.”

Jack chuckled darkly and winked at his sister. “Oh, I absolutely would. Remember the time she got spooked by that raccoon? And what happened afterward?”

“That raccoon was _rabid_!” Marisol exclaimed, and if she had hackled they would’ve been up. “And how was I supposed to know horses could get explosive diarrhea when they’re anxious? I was like, ten years old!”

“Yeah, but even most ten year olds have the common sense God gave a muskrat and don’t stand near the back end of their horse,” Jack countered, and grinned when Desi, Riley, and Mac all started laughing.

Mac finished up the paperwork and handed it back to the receptionist, then raised an eyebrow at Marisol. “You really got shit on by your horse?”

“Yes, I really did,” she muttered, crossing her arms over her chest and pouting, just like she used to when they were kids. “Mama made me hose off in the yard, it was terrible. But Jack’s one to talk—he got into all kinds of gross stuff as a kid.”

“Oh, but they already know about most of that since I told them myself.” Jack grinned, and both Mac and Riley nodded.

“That’s true, the man has no shame,” Riley said.

“And what he didn’t tell us about, your mom did when I came to visit with Jack a few years ago,” Mac added with that wicked smile of his Jack loved so much.

“Fine, fine.” Marisol rolled her eyes. “I’ll leave your boyfriend alone, Jacky.”

The idea of Mac being his boyfriend made Jack smile, and from the look on Mac’s face he didn’t mind. Jack’s name got called by a medical assistant and he levered himself out of the chair, Mac standing with him but not actively offering help, which he and his pride appreciated. They followed the assistant down a hallway to an exam room that had all kinds of charts of the human skeleton everywhere, specifically the spine. There was even a 3D model, which Mac immediately started studying while the smiling MA took Jack’s pulse, blood pressure, and asked him questions about his injury. Then she said the doctor would be in in a minute and left Jack to change out of his brace and clothes and into one of those drafty hospital gowns.

“I hate these things,” Jack grumbled, glaring at the gown.

Mac just grinned at him and helped him out of the brace, taking his shirt off as well. “I think you look very cute,” he said once Jack put the gown on, and then he went back to studying the model.

After a few minutes the door opened and a man in a white coat walked in, smiling at Jack and glancing at Mac. “I’m Doctor Blake. Would you mind stepping outside as I take a look at your friend?”

“Actually, I’d like him to stay,” Jack said, tamping down a spark of irritation. “Considering he’s my husband.” That lie came out unbidden and Mac shot him a wide-eyed glance.

Luckily the doctor didn’t seem to notice their reactions to Jack’s Freudian slip. “Oh, I’m so sorry—of course he can stay.” He put on some gloves and had Jack lay down on the exam table on his stomach so he could take a look at his back. “How long ago was the crash?”

“About three weeks,” Jack told him, biting his tongue to keep in a pained sound when the doctor pressed on the inflamed tissue around his spine.

“Well, I’ve taken a look at your x-rays, and it does seem like surgery could be an option to repair some of the burst fractures,” Blake said. “However, I have to warn you, it will be fairly invasive, and there’s no guarantee that it will improve your condition to the point where you can work again.”

“Not necessarily,” Mac said absently, still fiddling with the model spine. “You could increase the probability of success by implanting titanium rods in the vertebrae once they’ve been pieced back together.”

Both Jack and Blake turned their heads to look at Mac, and Jack had to suppress a smile when Blake’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry, are you... are you a doctor?” he asked, frowning in confusion.

“Not exactly,” Mac replied, looking away from the model spine and flashing Blake a small smile.

“Well... technically you’re right,” Blake said slowly, and Jack did his best not to get his hopes up.

Mac came closer and looked at the x-rays of Jack’s spine that were on Blake’s tablet. “It looks like the worst of the damage is to the T-4 and T-5, but you can’t fuse them together, he won’t have the range of motion he needs. On the way over here I read about a new treatment with stem cells—is that an option for him?”

“Possibly,” Blake said, still sounding dumbstruck. “If we implant the stem cells while we have him open on the table, it should promote healing. Out of curiosity... where would you place those rods you mentioned?”

Mac tilted his head and tapped at the tablet, marking the spots. “This would be a little unconventional,” he said to Blake, “but I think it would be better in the long term if they were horizontal instead of vertical, and thinner in diameter than what’s normally used—that way he could still bend over, and the support is more like a brace and less like something propping him up. Bone loss later in life is a concern, obviously, but supplements can help with that. I could probably build a model of what I’m thinking of if you bring me the rods.”

Blake looked from Mac to Jack, wide-eyed. “If that worked... it would be a revolution in surgery for people with this type of fracture.”

“Then it definitely sounds like something we should do,” Jack said, looking at Mac in awe and then turning his gaze to Blake.

“You have to understand, there’s still risk—” the doctor started, but Jack held up his hand.

“I know, doc, but here’s the thing—I made a choice a long time ago to trust every idea that guy’s come up with.” Jack gestured at Mac who ducked his head, biting his bottom lip. “He’s never failed me before, so I think I’m gonna trust him this time as well.”

Blake absorbed that for a moment, then finally nodded. “I want to see your idea in action. I’ll bring you those rods,” he said, and ducked out of the room.

As soon as he was gone Jack sat up, swinging his legs back and forth over the edge of the table. Mac came over to Jack, hands going to his shoulders, and leaned in to give him a soft kiss. “So we’re married, huh?” he asked, an amused gleam in his eyes, but he sobered quickly. “Jack, do you... this is a big deal. I think I’m right, but I’m not a doctor... and the actual doctor is right, this could be super risky.”

Jack spread his legs and tugged Mac between them, linking his fingers on the small of his back. “You’re the smartest person I know and I trust you.” Mac opened his mouth to protest, but Jack gave him a short kiss to shut him up. “I know it’s risky, Mac, but... if there’s a chance I could get better, I have to try it. I don’t know if we will come back to work after that—it’s possible you’ll fall in love with the ranch life and I won’t be able to drag you away—but I’d like to at least have an option, you know?”

Mac nodded, fingers brushing through the beard Jack grew by accident over the last three weeks. “I know. I also know I don’t want to see you all hunched over and in pain ten years from now, especially not if I could’ve done something to help. And we have to do this as soon as possible, babe—the longer your spine has to heal, the harder it’ll be for the surgeons to help you.”

Blake returned, carrying a package of what Jack presumed to be titanium rods... and being trailed by six or seven other doctors. “I told them about your idea, mister... I just realized I don’t know your name.”

Mac smiled, and only Jack could see the slight nervousness behind the expression. “Angus MacGyver, but most people just call me Mac.”

“Well, Mac, we think your idea could be incredible,” the sole female doctor said, pushing her glasses up her nose. “Show us what you have.”

And Mac did, switching effortlessly into scientist mode, building a model of the “brace” of rods he wanted to put through Jack’s vertebrae. He did it around the model spine that Blake had in his office, and by the time he was done all the doctors were smiling and nodding, impressed looks on their faces.

“Amazing,” one of them murmured. “How has no one thought to do it this way?”

“I don’t know,” Blake said, shaking his head a little. “But if you’re still on board, Jack, we could do this as early as... oh, Friday?”

That was four days away and Jack took a deep breath before nodding. “Sounds good.” He was scared—something he would admit to Mac and Mac only—but this was the risk he had to take. The doctors all left, giving Jack a chance to get changed back into his clothes, which he did with Mac’s help. “Have I ever told you how amazing you are?” Jack murmured, smiling when Mac turned pink. “All these docs, I imagine they’ve been doing this for a while... and you just turned their world upside down with an idea no one thought of before. And you came up with it in what, a day?” Mac only found out about his injury once he got to the ranch, so he didn’t have much time to think about possible solutions.

Mac ducked his head and smiled, and Jack could tell he was proud of himself even if he didn’t want to admit it. “The rehab for this is gonna be pretty intense.”

He helped Jack secure the brace, and soon as it was on his pain level went down to something manageable, and now he was kind of kicking himself for not wearing the thing sooner. “That’s okay, darlin’,” Jack said, grinning a little. “I’ll follow all your orders, I promise.”

“You just have to make everything dirty, don’t you?” Mac pretended to sound annoyed, but he was clearly not, especially when he leaned in to kiss Jack’s cheek. “So I don’t think Riley’s ever been to Dallas, and I doubt Desi has either—you up for a little sightseeing before we head home?”

Jack nodded, smiling when Mac grabbed his hand. “Sure, why not? Come on, husband,” he said, and Mac laughed loudly, and it was such a beautiful sound that Jack could only smile wider.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have some more feels and smut, compliments of the chefs!!!

They walked back to the waiting room where Desi, Riley, and Marisol sat and chatted cheerfully, but they all stood up when they saw them. When Mac suggested some sightseeing everyone was on board, and Mac gave them a short version of their talk with the doctors on the way to the car.

“That’s amazing news!” Marisol exclaimed when he was done talking, staring at Mac in wonder. “Jacky said you were smart, but... wow.”

“He’s super cool, for a huge nerd,” Desi said, punching Mac in the arm.

He shoved her a little in retaliation, and Jack could more clearly see the friendship between them. They decided to go see the aquarium since it wasn’t far from the hospital, which meant they could walk and not have to pay to park again. Riley dropped back, fitting her hand into Jack’s elbow like she did when she was younger and giving his arm a squeeze.

“Are you okay?” she asked, her voice soft with worry that she didn’t always show.

“I am,” Jack said, and he sighed when Riley gave him a pointed look. “I really am, Riles, I’m just... worried, I guess.” She didn’t say anything, clearly waiting for him to continue. “I guess I’m worried the surgery won’t work. I don’t think it can make it worse, but... I can’t keep living like this. And it’s not really fair to—” He stopped abruptly, not wanting to bother Riley with his fear that eventually Mac would grow tired of helping him out and taking care of him, especially if he never got better.

Riley looked at him knowingly, her eyebrows rising. “Mac’s not going to get sick of you, Jack,” she said, and goddamn, she knew him too well. “And we all love you, and if you had just told us—” She cut off, making a frustrated sound. “I would’ve been here as soon as I could if you’d called, just like Mac, or Desi, or anybody else. And even if you never get better, Jack, we’re not just gonna abandon you. Would you do that to me?”

“Of course not,” Jack said quietly, and now he saw exactly what kind of an ass he was. “You’re right, Riles. I should’ve asked for help when I needed it.”

“You should’ve,” Riley agreed with a small smile, hugging his arm and resting her head on his shoulder for a few seconds. “But we all also know how stubborn you can be sometimes, so you’re forgiven.” They walked in silence for a moment and Jack couldn’t help but smile a little as he watched Mac laugh at something Mari said, no longer feeling jealous at seeing them together. “You know he’ll be happy here, right?” Riley suddenly asked, smiling at him when he looked at her with a questioning gaze. “Mac. Even if you never come back to LA, he’s going to be happy as long as he’s with you. You don’t have to be worried about that.”

Jack swallowed hard, watched as Mac put an arm around Desi’s shoulders. “You really think so?”

“I know so,” Riley countered, still smiling as they arrived at the aquarium.

Mac paid the ridiculous admission price for all of them and they went in, the girls splitting off without discussing it, which gave Jack the opportunity to grab Mac’s hand. “Hey,” Mac said, squeezing Jack’s fingers, fondness in his eyes. “Just let me know if you get tired or your back hurts, okay? I’ll be more than happy to kick an old lady off a bench for you.”

“My hero,” Jack said with a grin. “But I don’t think it’ll come to such drastic measures.”

Mac grinned back, leaning in and kissing his cheek. They slowly walked around, watching various creatures swim in their tanks, and Jack couldn’t help but get a little lost in his head, thinking about his back, the surgery, everything Riley said... and Mac.

“Hey, you okay?” Mac asked after a moment, squeezing Jack’s hand again, and looking at him with concern visible in his eyes. “You’ve been... quiet. Getting lost thoughts is usually my thing,” he joked, but Jack could see that he was worried.

They stopped in front of the big shark tank, and Jack watched them swim and thought about what he wanted to say. “I’m good, Mac. Just a little... afraid that as brilliant as your idea is, that it might not work and I’m gonna be stuck like this forever. I’ve done one thing my whole life, and that’s... well, I guess it’s kill people in different scenarios, but you know what I mean. And I... I don’t know what I’ll do if I can’t do my job anymore. This is kinda what was going around in my head before you showed up, and now it’s back.” He looked into Mac’s eyes, that impossible shade of blue made even more vivid by the reflection of the water. “And I love you, more than anything... but I don’t want you to feel obligated to stay with me if... if there’s no hope I’ll recover.”

Mac’s eyes searched his face for a moment. “First of all, I could never feel obligated to stay with you. I always _want_ to stay with you,” he said, and he sounded... so sure. “It doesn’t matter where we live, the only thing that really matters is that I’m with you. I can figure out anything else.” He tilted his head a little, clearly thinking about what to say next. “And if... if my plan doesn’t work, we can stay here, or we can go anywhere else you want. Or... I’m sure Matty would be willing to have you train young recruits at the range or something, if you still wanted to do something Phoenix related.”

Jack exhaled harshly, staring into the tank for a second before he looked at Mac again. “You trying to make me cry, baby? Because it’s working.”

Mac rested his head on Jack’s shoulder. “Never. I’m just trying to be practical, that’s all.”

“Okay, well, I hadn’t even thought of training recruits, that’s a great idea,” Jack told him, lifting their joined hands to kiss the back of Mac’s. “You’re incredible, and I’m the luckiest man alive.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s me,” Mac said quietly, and Jack turned his head to press a kiss into his hair. “But I mean it, Jack. I don’t really care about where we live as long as I’m with you. And if you decide you want to stay here—I know you’ve been worried about that—I’m more than happy to live here.” He rubbed the back of Jack’s hand with his thumb for a moment before he tilted his head to look at him. “You do realize though, that if we go back to LA... we’ll probably have to take our furry children with us, right?”

Jack laughed at Mac’s choice of phrasing. “That’s just fine with me.” He paused, thinking of something... but it was probably too much to ask. “What about... what about Delta? And the other horses?”

“My property’s big enough for a stable,” Mac said, easy as breathing, knowing what Jack wanted without having to hear it. “I’d have to cut down a few trees, do some building... but it could be done. We could keep Delta and Peanut Butter, and you could give the rest of them to your mom and Juan. Hell, annex the properties together—you could knock down that fence and pay your mom’s taxes.”

“You just want to keep Peanut Butter because the first time we made out was against his stall,” Jack joked weakly, once again feeling on the verge of tears. He let go of Mac’s hand, but only to wrap both arms around his waist and pull him in a tight hug, pushing Mac’s face into his neck so that he could bury his nose in his hair. “I love you so much, Angus. So damn much, you have no idea,” he whispered into his ear, blinking a few times when his vision started blurring. “I can’t believe you’d really do that. Build a stable in the middle of LA, god, you’re crazy.”

“Not the first time I’ve been accused of that,” Mac said, hugging him back gently, careful to avoid his sore spots. “And it’s really not _that_ crazy—a lot of people have horses, there’s some great trails to ride once you get into the hills.” He touched Jack’s cheek when he stepped back, and gave him a quick kiss on the mouth. “I’d do anything for you, Jack. You should really know that by now. Besides, I’ve always thought it would be cool to have a bunch of animals.”

“Same,” Jack said, unable to stop smiling. “That was one of the things that I missed the most while living in my apartment in LA. I never could get a pet because I didn’t want it to be stuck alone all the damn time.” Once he felt like he wasn’t going to break down and start crying, he kissed Mac’s cheek and grabbed his hand. “Come on, let’s go watch more fish.”

~***~

They watched a lot more fish, in fact, and then they met up with the girls for lunch in the aquarium’s cafe. After that they went back to the car and headed back to the ranch—and when they got there, Juan’s pickup truck was parked outside the house. McClane came running out to Marisol’s SUV and almost knocked Jack down with the force of his enthusiastic greeting.

“Hey, easy!” Jack exclaimed. “What, did you think we were never coming back?”

“Actually, that’s exactly what dogs think when you leave, their concept of time is awful,” Mac told him, scratching McClane’s head. “Cats are much better about that.”

“Hey, is that your mom?” Desi asked, pointing up at the porch swing.

Jack felt himself blanch. Sure enough, his mom sat there waiting for them, and waved when he made eye contact with her. “Aw, shit, I’m about to get such an ass-reaming.”

“Yeah, you are,” Mac said with a grin that was way too wide—such a loving boyfriend, right. “You’re on your own, babe.” He leaned in to kiss Jack’s cheek and then he was off, apparently heading for the back door, McClane trotting right behind him.

Mari whisked Desi and Riley away as well, leaving Jack with no back up and unarmed. After cursing everyone, Jack slowly made his way to the porch. “Hey, mama.”

Alice got to her feet and planted her hands on her hips, staring at him for a moment before shaking her head. “Jack Wyatt Dalton,” she started, and oh boy, busting out the middle name was always bad. “What in the name of God possessed you to lock yourself away in this shithole when we were all more than willing to help you?” She pulled him into a hug, one that was tight and completely heedless of the brace—intentionally, no doubt. “I love you, Jacky, but you’re just as thick skulled as your father.”

She let him go after a moment and just as Jack thought the worst was behind him, she smacked his head, hard. “Thank god that gorgeous angel of yours showed up,” she said after Jack yelped, more in surprise than pain, staring at her with wide eyes. “Otherwise I would’ve gotten Warren here and we would’ve kicked down the door.” Jack opened his mouth to speak, but his mama apparently wasn’t done. “Also, I’m happy to hear you finally pulled your head out of your ass, kid, and kissed that pretty boy of yours. So damn oblivious, another thing you have in common with Senior.”

The laughter coming from inside the house told Jack everybody else heard Mama just fine—no one ever accused the Daltons of being soft-spoken—and Juan finally took pity on him and came to the door. “Mama, easy,” he said, a beer in his hand. “Mac was just about to tell me about the surgery he came up with to help Jacky, and I’m sure he doesn’t wanna explain it more than once. Come on in and have a beer—you too, Jack, we won’t make you stay outside.”

Alice glared at him one more time before going inside and Jack followed her, immediately heading to Mac. He accepted the beer from him, pouting a little, and arranged them in such a way so that Mac was standing between him and his mom.

“Seriously, Jacky?” Marisol laughed. “You gonna use him as a shield?”

Jack stuck his tongue out at her. “I’ll have you know he’s a very good shield, he could blow you up with a snap of his fingers.”

McClane also joined them, happily walking between everyone with the exception of Juan who tried to pet him and was rewarded with a growl and teeth for his trouble, much to Jack’s amusement. “Why does your dog hate me, Jack?” Juan all but whined. “He’s my nephew!”

“Well, my nephews all love me, so you must be doing something wrong,” Marisol declared, bending down to scratch behind McClane’s ears and giggling when he bounced up to lick her face.

They all settled down in the living room, with Mac sitting in Jack’s lap to make room on the couch for Alice and Juan, and the girls taking the big recliner and perching on it like only girls could. Mac explained his idea again to Juan and Alice, and when he was done Alice reached up and grabbed Mac by the face, pulling him down to smack a kiss on his forehead. “Jesus, Jacky, he’s handsome as hell _and_ smart as a whip? How’d you get so lucky?”

“I have no idea, mama.” Jack smiled when Mac bit his lip, his cheeks turning red again—he’d been blushing since he got there, Jack loved it. “No idea at all.”

“And to think I was so close to stealing him away,” Marisol sighed.

Juan turned to look at her with wide eyes. “What? You’d have to be blind to not see how gone for Jack he is, how did you miss that?”

Juan and Marisol started arguing about that in English that slowly devolved into Spanish, and Alice just shook her head and sighed. “You kids are gonna be the death of me, I swear,” she muttered, then said, “Oh, by the way, I talked with Warren and Mark, and they’re both bringing the families out here for a little get together tomorrow night after your other friends get here, Angus.”

“Holy hell, Mama,” Jack said, his eyes going wide. “They’re bringing the wives and kids?”

“Yeah, and so am I,” Juan said, back to English, and he reached over to pat Mac on the shoulder. “Lauren can’t wait to meet you, and the kids think you’re a superhero already.”

Mac gave him a small smile, but Jack saw his eyes widen a little. “That’s... that’s gonna be how many people, Jack?” he asked, and after trying for a minute Jack gave up counting.

“A lot, baby,” Jack said with a grin, squeezing Mac’s waist. Mac met his brother before when he came to visit, but never all at once and never with the kids and wives. “You’re about to experience a true Dalton bash. Oh man, we’re gonna need so much food. Mama, as much of a genius that one is—” Jack ignored the indignant sound Mac made “—he can’t cook and I can’t move, so we’re gonna need help here.”

“Well, technically this was our idea, so I suppose we could help,” Alice said, smiling back at him, and Jack’s pretty sure he was forgiven for his dumbassery. She levered herself off the couch and then looked at Juan and Marisol. “What are you gonna do, sit on your asses all day? Or go to the store with me?”

They both scrambled up, and Desi stood too, pulling Riley with her. “We’ll help,” she volunteered, and then they were grabbing keys and purses and heading for the door.

Mac hopped up to see them out, and soon Juan’s truck and Mari’s SUV rumbled away. He came back to the couch, and even though there was room this time, he sat in Jack’s lap again, straddling his thighs and wrapping his arms around his neck. “I notice they conveniently left me behind to look after you,” he said, a mischievous lilt to his voice. The afternoon light filtering in through the windows hit him in just the right way, making his hair light up gold and bringing out the freckles scattered over his nose that were normally hard to see. “You think that was a good idea?”

Jack reached up to brush his fingers through Mac’s hair and then he slid his hand to his cheek, thumb swiping over his lower lip. God, he was so beautiful. “A terrible idea,” Jack murmured, moving his hand to the back of Mac’s neck and pulling him in for a kiss. Mac sighed into his mouth and melted against him, immediately parting his lips and letting Jack slip his tongue inside. Jack slid his hand up Mac’s thigh and squeezed his hip before wrapping his arm around his waist, his other hand moving lower and stroking Mac’s back. They kiss lazily for a moment and then Jack broke the kiss to breathe, but didn’t go far. “You sure you’re up for babysitting an old man?” he muttered teasingly against Mac’s mouth, feeling Mac’s hot breath on his lips.

“Mhmm, I think I can manage,” Mac replied, his voice low and just as teasing as Jack’s. He smiled into the kiss, his hands coming around to frame Jack’s face, his touch gentle. He sighed theatrically, and when he pulled back enough to look Jack in the eye, and the affection in his expression was almost overwhelming. “It’s a hard job, but someone has to do it.” He slid out of Jack’s grasp, but only to standd up and offer him both his hands to help him up. Jack took them and stood too, and when he wobbled a little Mac steadied him and leaned in to kiss him again. “How about we go find a bed?” he asked, and there was an undercurrent to the words that made Jack shudder.

He didn’t reply and just tugged Mac in the direction of the master bedroom. His patience ran out when they stepped through the door and he wrapped his arms around Mac before they even reached the bed to pull him in a hungry kiss, swallowing the surprised moan Mac let out. Almost immediately he slid one of his hands to grope Mac’s ass, wishing he could just pick Mac up and toss him on the bed, but that wouldn’t be happening any time soon. Instead he just held him tight, using his grip on Mac’s ass to press them together, squeezing Mac’s ass cheek a little harder.

Mac’s kissing him back, and at the same time his fingers worked on getting Jack out of the back brace. He pulled the straps free and let it fall to the floor, then backed up a half-step and tugged Jack with him until they reached the bed. “Sit up against the headboard,” he said, and Jack did as he was told, and stifled an impatient whine when Mac stopped to pull off Jack’s boots along with his own. Then he crawled up the mattress and into Jack’s lap, kissing his lips briefly before mouthing over Jack’s jaw until he reached his ear. “You really do have a thing for my ass, don’t you?” he whispered, nipping at Jack’s earlobe as punctuation, his tone amused.

“Can you blame me? It’s a fantastic ass,” Jack murmured, and slid both of his hands down to grip the object of their discussion, fingers digging in as he kneaded the ass cheeks through the material of Mac’s jeans.

He also turned his head a little and caught Mac’s lips, kissing him hungrily and nipping on his lower lip, smirking a little when Mac let out a high pitched whine. Mac’s hips twitched a little, grinding down into Jack’s half-hard cock, sending little sparks of pleasure up his spine and making him almost forget about his broken back. He pulled back enough to speak, squirming in Jack’s lap as he crammed a hand into one of the pockets of his jeans.

“Good thing I found this earlier when I was looking for clothes,” he said breathlessly, and when Jack glanced down he saw a packet of lube. “Evidently I stole a bunch of samples from somewhere, because there’s even more in my bag.”

“I love you and your kleptomaniac ways,” Jack said, grinning at him before diving in for another kiss, one hand sliding up from Mac’s ass to pull his shirt out from under his jeans.

Unfortunately Mac was wearing a button up shirt which meant Jack had to let go off Mac’s ass to deal with the buttons. Mac nipped on his lower lip and being very distracting, but Jack managed and he let out a triumphant sound when he slid the shirt off Mac’s shoulders... only to find a t-shirt underneath him that he forgot was there. Jack groaned and Mac laughed, tossing the lube aside so he could reach up and pull the t-shirt off, then do the same to Jack’s, albeit a little slower.

As soon as there was skin for Jack to put his hands on he did it, fascinated by every mole and dip and curve on Mac’s body. He leaned down and nipped at the scar over Mac’s left shoulder from where he got shot at Lake Como, then trailed his mouth back up so he could suck a bruise over the birthmark near the hinge of his jaw. Mac’s thighs squeezed his hips encouragingly, moaning a little as he slid his hands down over Jack’s chest and abs to his belt buckle, toying with it.

“You’re a tease,” Jack mumbled against Mac’s skin, nipping on his neck in revenge. Instead of waiting for Mac to get his jeans undone, he slid his hands down Mac’s chest and unbuttoned his pants, moving his hands around and slipping them under the waistband to grope his ass without the annoying material in the way. “Now we’re talkin’,” he muttered, squeezing his ass cheeks hard and biting on Mac’s collarbone.

Mac made a sound that was half whimper, half moan, and got Jack’s belt open. “Am I... really a tease if I plan on following through?” he asked, yanking Jack’s jeans open and sliding his hand inside, fingers curling around his hard cock.

Jack’s whole body jolted at the touch and he yanked Mac even closer, but that didn’t give them the friction either of them desperately wanted. So Jack let go of Mac’s ass for long enough that he could rise up on his knees and get out of his jeans and underwear, which also gave Jack time to do the same. Then they were finally naked and Jack could grope Mac’s ass all he wanted, while Mac gave his cock a slow, firm stroke. Jack groaned loudly and Mac’s fingers tightened around him, stroking him a little faster. It was amazing but also infuriating, and Jack squeezed Mac’s ass again, spreading the cheeks a little and slipping his fingers into the crack and pressing them against Mac’s dry hole. Mac’s gasped against Jack’s cheek and his grip on Jack’s cock faltered and then he let go, pawing on the mattress until he found the lube.

Mac basically tossed it in Jack’s face, hands going to grip his shoulders when Jack kept teasingly rubbing his fingers against his entrance. “W-who’s the tease now?”

“Still you, I think,” Jack said lowly, kissing the skin right below Mac’s ear, following that up with a scrape from his teeth. He got the lube open and managed not to spill it everywhere, just on his fingers, and then he was back to circling Mac’s hole. He pushed one in slowly, groaning at the way Mac felt on the inside, so plush and hot. “God, baby, you’re killing me,” he rumbled, his other hand squeezing Mac’s ass cheek, spreading him wide. “Just opening up for me like this, like you can wait to have me inside you.”

“I’ve... wanted this for so long,” Mac breathed out, his voice breaking a little, and then he groaned when Jack added a second finger. He whimpered when Jack scissors them and then pushed deeper, and Mac cried out when his fingers found his prostate. His breathing was all ragged and Jack smirked against Mac’s neck before moving his fingers faster, nudging his prostate a few times in a row before pressing his fingers against that spot... and keeping them there.

“Oh, _Jack_ ,” Mac said, his voice breaking again as he sobbed, but it was a pleasured sound, his hands so tightly clenched on Jack’s shoulders that he was probably leaving bruises. His hips rocked between the friction of Jack’s cock against his own and the inescapable stimulation of Jack’s fingers against his prostate, and he was so gorgeous. “Jack, Jack, Jack, please,” he babbled, and finally Jack moved his fingers again, adding a third and starting to stretch him in earnest.

Mac inhaled audibly, moaning loudly, his entire body trembling. His hips didn’t stop moving, pushing back against Jack’s fingers as he kept whimpering in his ear, and Jack had never seen anything that beautiful in his life. “Fuck, you’re so gorgeous like this,” Jack muttered, spreading his fingers while his other hand squeezed Mac’s ass cheek. “Moaning my name so prettily. God, I can’t wait to fuck you.” He tightened his grip on Mac’s ass as he pushed his fingers deeper, teasing Mac’s prostate again. “You really, really want this, don’t you?”

Mac tilted his head and bit down on the spot where Jack’s shoulder met his neck, maybe a little harder than what would strictly be considered romantically. “Yes, I really, really do,” he gritted out, licking a stripe up Jack’s neck to his face, before attacking his mouth with his lips and teeth. “And if you’d ever like to fuck me again after this, you’ll get on with it already.” He wasn’t angry, not really, but the little demanding growl to his voice was so hot that it went straight to Jack’s dick.

“Okay, baby, okay.” Jack removed his fingers, nipping on Mac’s lip when he hissed a little at the loss. “Condoms? I’m clean—”

“Don’t have them, don’t need them,” Mac panted, rolling his hips down impatiently, and well, Jack wasn’t going to argue.

He quickly lubed himself up and then gripped Mac’s hips to position him, and once the head of his cock was pressed against Mac’s hole, Mac started lowering himself down. Or more like impaling himself because he was so far gone that he sank down on his cock in one swift motion. Jack’s eyes rolled back, his head cracking against the headboard as his dick got enveloped in Mac’s tight heat. It felt even better than he thought it would, like Mac’s body was trying to squeeze the life out of him in the best possible way, and he hadn’t even moved yet. In fact, he was shivering on top of Jack, hands trembling and eyes glassy, and when he pulled Jack in for another kiss it was surprisingly soft and gentle.

“You feel so good,” Mac whispered against Jack’s mouth, those shaky fingers scratching through his beard.

“I think I should be telling you that,” Jack mumbled, honestly shocked he was even able to form words at this point. When Mac continued to shiver, Jack ran his hands up and down his sides and kissed the corner of his mouth. “You okay, baby?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m... I’m good,” Mac breathed out, resting his forehead against Jack’s for a moment before wrapping his arms around Jack’s neck and experimentally rolling his hips.

They both moaned a little at the feeling, and Jack settled his hands on Mac’s hips—not in a controlling way, just to hold on. Mac rolled his hips again, and again, and eventually set a steady rhythm that had Jack seeing stars and fighting to keep his hips still. The last thing he wanted was a muscle spasm to ruin their good time, so he had to focus on letting Mac do the work, and Jesus, was he good at it. Soon he was lifting his hips up and slamming them down again, crying out sharply when he found his prostate, teeth sinking into his own lower lip, nails clawing at Jack’s skin.

He repeated the motion, bouncing in Jack’s lap and managing to hit his prostate almost every time. “Jack, _Jack_ ,” he whimpered, and Jack didn’t think his name ever sounded so amazing.

He moved his hands from Mac’s hip, wrapping his arm around his waist and sliding his other hand down to wrap his fingers around Mac’s cock. “Fuck, Angus, baby, look at you,” he gasped, stroking him in the rhythm of Mac’s movements. “So beautiful and so good for me.”

Mac cried out again, his voice climbing higher and higher, and Jack never would’ve figured him for a screamer but he wasn’t about to complain. “Oh, oh, shit, Jack, I’m—” he started, and then he was coming hard all over Jack’s hand, warm and sticky, and clenching around his cock as tightly as a vise. He gasped for breath, eyes open wide... but his hips didn’t stop moving, twitching and spasming and trying to get Jack to come.

Jack groaned, letting go of Mac’s cock and moving both of his hands to grip Mac’s ass again. He buried his face in Mac’s neck, panting against his skin as Mac continued bouncing on his cock, and it only took Mac slamming himself down a few more times for Jack to come as well, biting on Mac’s neck hard enough to leave a mark. Mac whimpered, his hips slowing down as Jack’s cock pulsed inside him and filled him up with come, and he worked him through it until Jack was done and then Mac stilled, slumping against him.

“Holy hell, Angus,” Jack whispered, trying and failing to get his breath back, shifting and wrapping both arms around Mac and holding him close. “That was fantastic, I ain’t never felt so good.” He kissed the side of Mac’s head and then nuzzled his hair, stroking one hand up and down his spine. “Are you okay, darlin’?”

Mac grunted something unintelligible against his neck before he shifted a little and pressed a kiss to Jack’s jaw. “I’m great,” he mumbled. “I don’t think I can move, but I’m amazing.”

Jack chuckled quietly at that, kissing Mac’s head again, and then Mac lifted himself up, letting Jack’s cock slip out of him. He curled up back in Jack’s lap and Jack kept stroking his back, eventually letting his hand slide down Mac’s spine to his ass... where his come leaked out of Mac’s hole.

“Fuck,” he muttered quietly, and unable to stop himself, he gently pressed his fingers against Mac’s entrance, a possessive rush go through his body when he felt his own come there.

Mac whined near his ear, but not necessarily in a bad way. “Why didn’t we start doing this sooner?” he asked, nuzzling at Jack’s neck, his arms looping around Jack’s shoulders, careful not to touch the broken parts of his back. “Like _way_ sooner? If I knew I could’ve had your dick in my ass back in the Sandbox we would’ve spent _way_ less time arguing.”

That made Jack snort out a laugh, his other hand coming up to card through Mac’s unruly hair. “That’s true,” he said, cupping the back of Mac’s neck, thumb rubbing over his skin. “Could’ve avoided that whole mess with Nikki, too.”

“Yeah,” Mac said quietly after a moment, regret clear in his voice. “We could’ve.” He was silent for a moment after that and Jack briefly wondered if he maybe shouldn’t have brought it up, but before he could say anything, Mac’s spoke again: “You know... even then, I still loved you. But since I was sure you were straight and we could never be together, I... I tried to move on. I thought it would be easier if I were with someone, that this temptation to kiss you would go away if I wasn’t single, but... that didn’t work.”

Jack sighed and he used his grip on Mac’s neck to tug him back far enough to see his face. “I wish I would’ve known,” he told him softly, leaning in to press their mouths together. “If I had known you wanted that... God, I would’ve felt like the worst kind of dirty old man but I would’ve been all over you anyway.”

Mac frowned a little, reaching up to touch Jack’s cheek. “You know I don’t think of you that way, right? Our age difference has never mattered to me, even when I was younger.”

Mac looked at him with those amazing blue eyes, soft and loving, and Jack exhaled shakily. “I’m... how did I get so lucky?” he asked quietly, repeating what his mom said earlier. “And I’m... I know I don’t exactly deserve you, but I’m afraid that now that you let me be with you, you’re not getting rid of me.”

Mac’s frown deepened, that little furrow appearing between his brows like it did when he was confused. “Why wouldn’t you... Jack, what are you talking about?” His thumb stroked over Jack’s cheekbone. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I know you’ve done some bad things, but you’ve done so many good things too, I’ve seen it myself.”

Jack stared at him for a moment, and had to swallow hard when he felt tears sting his eyes. “You... I love you so much.”

“I love you too, just as much.” Mac smiled at him softly before pulling him down for another lazy kiss. “I never want to get rid of you, in fact, I never want to let you go,” he whispered against Jack’s lips after a moment, and Jack felt like his heart was going to burst. After nuzzling his cheek, Mac kissed him again and nipped a little on his lower lip, a small smirk appearing on his face. “Also... once you’re all better, I can’t wait for you to pin me down and fuck me until I pass out.”

Jack’s dick twitched a little at those words, and he hugged Mac closer, if that was even possible. “I’m looking forward to that,” he murmured, kissing Mac because he could... and then he stifled a yawn. “Jesus, you wore me out.”

“Oh, what a tragedy,” Mac said dryly, and he rearranged them carefully, so that Jack could lie down on his back and Mac could rest his head on his shoulder, curling up around his body. “You wanna take a nap?”

“Mhmm, that would be nice,” Jack murmured, ready to drift away when he remembered something and his eyes snapped open. “They’re not gonna be back from the store for a while, right?” They were lying on top of the covers since it was too hot to be under them and if anyone walked in right now... that wouldn’t be fun. “Because I love my family, I do, but boundaries aren’t a familiar concept to them.”

Mac chuckled against his chest but sat up, swinging his long legs over the side of the bed and giving Jack a great view of his ass as he loped over to the bedroom door and shut it. As an added precaution he slid the wing backed chair that sat in the corner in front of the door to block it. “We should be safe, but it doesn’t hurt to have a backup plan,” Mac said, clambering back into bed and cuddling up against Jack’s side again. He slid an arm around his middle and squeezed gently, throwing a leg over both of Jack’s. “How’s your back? I didn’t hurt you, right?”

Jack wrapped his arm around him and kissed Mac’s forehead. “I’m fine, baby, it’s all good,” he murmured. “It hurts a little, but no more than usually.” He stroked Mac’s back slowly, up and down a few times before he slid his hand lower to rest it on Mac’s ass. He did it mostly to make Mac laugh, but also because he meant what he said, he really loved that ass.

“Seriously, Jack?” Mac snorted in amusement, but he didn’t shake off Jack’s hand, so Jack kept it right where he put it.

They fell asleep like that, tangled up in each other and happy.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter: Bozer, Leanna, James, and Matty all arrive! Jack bottoms!
> 
> In the next chapter: DALTONS! SO MANY DALTONS!

When Jack woke up a few hours later, the first thing he noticed was that Mac wasn’t in his arms anymore and the sun was almost set outside. Second thing was there was enough commotion in the house to rival a rodeo: he heard Mama and Mari and Juan, along with Desi and Riley, but also Bozer and Leanna. Mac left Jack’s brace and clothes sitting on the edge of the mattress and he smiled to himself, shaking his head at how much he loved that man. He got dressed and headed out into the fray—and almost had a heart attack when he walked right into a MacGyver, but not the one he was expecting.

“Whoa, easy, Dalton,” James said with a chuckle, putting a hand on his shoulder to steady him. The other one held a beer. “You feeling okay?”

Jack blinked at him and he was aware that he looked like an idiot with his jaw hanging open. “... Oversight, hey,” he eventually said, figuring that since he’d never been on a first name basis with the man, he wasn’t about to start now. Everything Mac said about the new conflict between them flashed through Jack’s head in about a second, but he didn’t let it show that he knew anything about it. “I’m... good, just haven’t expected to see you here.”

“Well, it seemed rude to have Matty come down here on her own,” James said, shrugging a little. “Plus I don’t have any treatments for a while, and I wanted to check in on you and Angus.” He tipped his head toward the front of the house. “He’s out by the car pretending to do something so he doesn’t have to talk to me—I’m sure he’s told you everything by now, you don’t have to pretend like he hasn’t.”

“Dalton wouldn’t do something that dumb,” Matty interjected, coming over and handing Jack a beer. “Well, at least I thought he wouldn’t before he pulled this little stunt. I’m sure the others have lectured you already, Jack, but what the hell? We’re family through anything except for when it comes to you?”

“Yeah, Mac already yelled at me about that,” Jack admitted quietly. “And so did my mother.” He took a sip of his beer, trying to get a grip because his life and his ranch was turning into a fucking circus. “I realize now that I may have been an idiot.”

“That’s putting it mildly.” Matty snorted, but she was smiling, and for some reason that made Jack breathe a little easier—having Matilda Webber _truly_ angry at him was something Jack was genuinely afraid of. With a small grin, he tipped the bottle at her before heading in the direction of all the noise.

“Jack!” Leanna exclaimed with a smile, coming over to give him a gentle hug. “Before you ask, your car is fine. Not a scratch and I didn’t let Bozer drive it, _or_ eat in it.”

“It was miserable!” Bozer exclaimed, and he joins them, also hugging Jack with exceeding gentleness. “Couldn’t eat a damn thing for hours at a time, and you know how your boy likes to eat—and then sometimes she was going like a hundred miles an hour! I thought the car was gonna fly off the road!”

“You were what now?” Jack asked Leanna, raising his eyebrows.

She smiled sheepishly. “It’s a fun car to drive, and we were _nowhere near_ going off the road, Bozer.” She glared at him and he pouted, and Jack could already envision their wedding.

He managed to skirt around the rest of his family and get outside, where he was immediately greeted by McClane. “Hey, bud,” he said, reaching down to scratch his ear, and then he headed over to the GTO. It’d been a long time since he saw her, but he was more concerned with Mac, who was leaning against the tailgate and watching the sunset. He smiled when he saw Jack, but there was a tension to it that Jack didn’t like.

“Hey,” Mac said softly once Jack was within touching distance, his smile widening when Jack slid an arm around his waist and pressed a kiss to his temple. “I take it you ran into my dad?”

“Yeah, I did,” Jack confirmed, and the smile on Mac’s face turned a little sour. He moved his gaze away to look at the sunset again and while he looked beautiful in the soft light, that wasn’t what Jack was focused on right now. “You okay, darlin’?” Mac just shrugged in response, and Jack sighed and tugged Mac closer, his heart fluttering when Mac rested his head on his shoulder. “You know you can talk to me, right?” Jack whispered, nuzzling his hair before kissing the top of Mac’s head, not giving a damn about who could see them. Although maybe he should’ve, he realized absently, since he had no idea if Mac’s old man knew about the... change in their relationship.

Mac didn’t seem to care either way, because he wrapped his arms around Jack’s waist and sort of turned into him, so his face was pressed against Jack’s shoulder instead. “I know I can, it’s just...” He sighed, and Jack could tell he was frustrated, probably both with his father and himself. “I understand why he did what he did—I do, because I would do anything for you, it wouldn’t matter what it was. But that doesn’t mean I’m okay with it, and… well, to say I don’t think I’m worth that kind of sacrifice would be an understatement.”

Jack immediately tensed and he tightened his arm around Mac. “Of course you’re worth it, don’t even say things like that,” was the first thing that came out of Jack’s mouth, his voice maybe a little harder than it should’ve been, and Mac looked up at him in surprise. “I’m sorry, baby, I just...” Jack trailed off, trying to figure out how to say it. “I understand why he did it. I would’ve done the exact same thing,” he started, knowing Mac probably wouldn’t like it, but it was the truth and he didn’t want to lie to Mac. “I know it doesn’t sit well with you, because of your nature. You’re always helping others and never putting yourself first, because that’s just who you are, and I usually admire that about you, I do.” Jack paused for a moment, choosing his next words carefully. “But... you can’t save everyone, Mac, no matter how hard you try and... sometimes you have to make some kind of a choice and that’s what your old man did. I can’t tell you if he did it because you’re his son or a valuable asset—both I suppose—but I can tell you that it was probably the only choice to be made. And I’m not saying that because I love you, I’m saying that from a strategic point of view.”

Mac’s eyes searched his face for a moment, and whatever he saw there seemed to satisfy him because he kissed Jack’s cheek. “I love you too,” he whispered. “And I know you’re right. I just wish he would’ve told me when everything was happening with Mason, instead of waiting until later. I hate to say this, but maybe I could’ve used it to my advantage if I had known.” He blinked at Jack before looking back toward the sun, his face and hair burning gold. “It probably wouldn’t have helped Charlie... but I can’t help but wonder, you know?”

“I know, darlin’,” Jack said, rubbing Mac’s arm comfortingly. “And you’re allowed to be angry and upset as long as you need to. We can hide in the stable if you want?” he offered, smiling when Mac chuckled a little. “I know him being here complicates everything, but we’ll figure it out, yeah?”

“We always do,” Mac said quietly, and the conviction in his voice—the faith he had in Jack— never ceased to amaze. He sighed again. “I’ll talk to him at some point—everybody wants to be there for your surgery. I also got a text from Doctor Blake, he wants me to be in the operating room. I’ll be the one who assembles the rods before they put them in.”

“You will?” Jack raised his eyebrows in surprise. Mac nodded in response and when he looked at him, he bit his lower lip and his brows furrowed in worry. “Well, I feel better about the whole thing already,” Jack said with a grin, seeing the hesitation in Mac’s eyes that changed into surprise. “What? There ain’t anyone I trust as much as I trust you. And I know you’ll make sure they do it right.”

Mac smiled at him again, and this time it was a real one, the one with the dimples that never failed to make something flutter in Jack’s chest. “You’re crazy,” he said fondly. “I’m not even a doctor.”

“Pretty sure you could be if you wanted to,” Jack countered, finishing his beer and tossing the bottle to the ground so he could run a hand through Mac’s hair. “You’re so smart, baby, you could do anything you wanted to.”

“I’m doing exactly what I want to.” Mac’s words were full of affection, and he nuzzled Jack’s jaw. “Oh, by the way, your mom was saying the appliances that are in the kitchen are shitty and I agree with her, so I just ordered a new refrigerator and stove—they’ll be here tomorrow morning.” His expression turned sheepish. “I may have also gotten some stuff to fix up the house.”

Jack’s heart was about to explode because of how much he loved this gorgeous genius in front of him and he leaned in to give him a sweet kiss. “You’re actually enjoying this, aren’t you?” he asked. “Planning what to fix and how to fix it, actually getting closer to starting the renovations... you’re excited.”

“Well, yeah?” Mac said, a touch confused. “Should I not be? I like fixing things, you know that.”

Before Jack had a chance to respond to that, Marisol hollered from the house: “Hey, lovebirds! Dinner’s almost ready!”

“Jesus, Mari, we ain’t deaf!” Jack shouted back, which made Mac laugh. Lowering his voice, he asked, “Hey... did you tell your dad about us, or anybody else?”

“No... but none of them seemed surprised when I came out of the bedroom and they could still see you sleeping in there,” Mac responded as they climbed the stairs. “I guess everybody knew before we did.”

Jack just hummed in response and they walked into the house. Since the table was too small for everyone to have a place at it, there were various smaller tables from other rooms lined up next to it, along with what Jack suspected were all the chairs that he had in this disaster he called a ranch. When he sat down he found himself sitting between Mac and Riley... well, technically between Riley and McClane, who squeezed himself between him and Mac, resting his head in Mac thigh and staring up at him lovingly.

Mac smiled down at McClane and patted his head, sneaking him a piece of the steak Juan and Mama made when he thought nobody was looking. The cats made an appearance too, lounging on the back of the couch and watching everyone get settled. The Daltons had never been a family that said Grace so they dug in right away, steak and baked potatoes and collard greens getting passed around until everybody had a full plate.

“This is delicious, Alice,” James commented, and if someone had told Jack a week ago that his boss would be complimenting his mother’s food on his ranch in Texas, he would’ve laughed hysterically and called them crazy... but oh well.

His mom smiled widely and it wasn’t long before everyone was chatting amicably and joking around. Riley got along with Marisol just great, which wasn’t a surprise at all, and Matty was chatting with Alice, which was scary as fuck now that Jack thought about it. James was talking to Juan, but Jack saw him glancing at Mac every now and then with a pensive look on his face. Mac chatted with Bozer and Desi, and Jack just sort of... drank it all in. Both of his families got along, and he reveled in that for a moment. It was only going to get crazier when Warren and Mark showed up, plus all the wives and kids, but a part of Jack was looking forward to it.

“So Angus,” James said, chewing through a bite of steak, “Alice was telling Matty and me about the treatment plan you came up with for Jack’s back. That’s really impressive, son.”

Mac stared at him for a moment before he nodded, smiling down at his plate just a little. “Thanks, Dad.” He hesitated, then asked, “Do... would you like to look at it and see if there’s anything I missed? The doctor sent me a copy of the write up and pictures of the model.”

James smiled, and Jack was momentarily struck by how similar he looked to Mac. “Sure, I’d love to.”

Mac smiled back and when James turned his attention back to his plate Jack reached to give Mac’s thigh a comforting squeeze. His hand was immediately licked by McClane who was still keeping watch next to Mac, counting on more steak. “Come on, McClane, where are your manners?” Jack groaned, but he couldn’t hide a smile, and Mac snorted.

“He’s your dog, Jacky, I wouldn’t expect any manners from him,” Juan teased, and it was only Alice’s pointed glare that stopped Jack from showing him a middle finger.

“And you’re surprised McClane doesn’t like you,” Mac said with a grin, and the smile on Juan’s face faded away.

Riley looked down at McClane and frowned, patting his head. “Why don’t you like Juan, buddy?” she asked, and he cocks his head to one side and stared up at her as only a dog could. “You know, he has some scars on his back—do you think maybe he was abused?”

“He was pretty nervous when I first saw him,” Mac noted, frowning too. He glanced down under the table and his eyes widened with realization. “Juan, try taking off your boots. I bet somebody who wore big cowboy boots like that used to kick him, and dogs are fantastic at associating objects with stimuli.”

Juan’s eyes also widened and he immediately took off his boots before standing up and slowly walking up closer to McClane. The dog watched him warily but didn’t growl, though his ears went flat when Juan reached for him. He froze up a little when Juan’s hand touched his head, but he relaxed when Juan gently scratched him behind the ear. “There you go, buddy,” Juan murmured, and Jack watched the scene with a small grin. “I’d never hurt you, and I’d gladly punch the person that did.”

“You don’t think he belonged to one of the Spencers, do you?” Marisol asked, her eyes narrowed. “Some of those guys were real assholes when we were growing up.”

“I don’t think so, they mostly kept pit bulls or German Shephards,” Alice said, and she smiled too when Juan sat on the ground and McClane crawled in his lap for more pets. “Doesn’t seem like he’s just a stray, either, he’s too friendly. But he’s certainly better off with Jacky and Angus than he was with whoever had him last.”

“I hate people that hurt animals,” Bozer said. “Remember that neighbor guy you lit on fire when we were kids, Mac? The one who was mean to his cat?”

“You did _what_?” Jack looked at Mac with wide eyes.

Bozer told the story and Jack laughed when he imagined Mac as a kid and realized that he didn’t change at all, at least when it came to setting things or people on fire. Mac gave him a wicked grin, the exact one he used when he was blowing shit up, and god, Jack was so in love it was ridiculous. Eventually everyone was done eating and they started cleaning up—Jack wasn’t because literally everyone yelled at him when he even tried to get up from his chair, even James much to Jack’s surprise.

Juan, Marisol, and Alice left soon after everything was put away with promises to come over bright and early to help with the new appliances and start the cooking. Mac made sure everybody had somewhere to sleep—since he and Jack were sharing a room now, Bozer and Leanna took the pink room, Desi and Riley took the one across the hall, and James and Matty doubled up without complaint, which made Jack raise an eyebrow. Then Mac brought his laptop over to the kitchen table and sat down with his dad to show him everything for Jack’s surgery.

James looked at all the pictures and read the plan before he looked at Mac and said, “I think you’ve covered all your bases, Angus. This looks good. You know if this is successful you’ll be able to patent this device, right?”

Mac blinked at him in surprise. “I... I haven’t thought of that. To be honest, I just hope it works so that Jack can get better.”

He needed to stop talking like that or Jack was going to turn into a puddle. He also couldn’t help the pride from spreading through him—he always knew Mac was a genius, but this... this was a whole new level. “Hey,” Matty’s voice made him look away from MacGyvers. “You really are an idiot, you know.”

“I’m aware,” Jack said, not sure what part she was talking about, but he still agreed.

“You’re lucky he’s so damn stubborn.” Matty gestured at Mac. “But thanks to you being a tool you finally figured the other shit out as well, so I guess there’s a silver lining.”

“True, I guess,” Jack agreed before looking at James again, and since he always liked to play with danger a little... “What about you, boss lady? Anything you figured out lately?”

To Jack’s utter amazement, Matty _blushed_. He’d never seen that in all the years he’d known her and he was so shocked he almost fell out of his chair. “Maybe,” Matty hedged, tucking some hair behind her ear. “After the last mess with Ethan, I finally realized I need to move on. And James... well, we’ve known each other for a while, and he’s a good guy. Father of the year? Not by a long shot, but he’s trying.” She glanced at Jack and scowled when she saw he was smiling. “And you never heard any of that, Dalton.”

“My lips are sealed,” Jack promised, although he was definitely telling Mac about it, unless Mac got it out of James first. He already can’t wait to see the look on Mac’s face when he realizes what’s going on, because as far as Jack can tell, for now Mac has no idea. “Okay, no need for the murder look number five.” Jack raises his hands in surrender when Matty continues glaring at him.

“Hey, what are you two whispering about over there?” James suddenly asked, and when Jack looked both Mac and James were watching them curiously.

“Nothing!” Matty and Jack exclaimed together, which did nothing to help them look less suspicious.

“Sure looks like something,” Mac commented, and he and his dad exchanged a look. “Are we done?”

“I think so,” James said, and he gave Mac’s shoulder a squeeze as they both stood up.

Mac came over to Jack and offered him a hand up, and didn’t let go once he’s standing. “You wanna take a walk?” he asked, and there was something a little mischievous visible in his blue eyes. “Maybe go see Peanut Butter?”

“Sure,” Jack said slowly, and he let Mac tug him outside. Considering the fact that their first kiss was right next to Peanut Butter’s stall, scarring the poor guy forever, Jack was hoping for something along the same lines. They walked in silence and Jack enjoyed the fresh air—he’d always loved evenings and nights here, and he realized he’d have to take Mac out one night and watch the stars with him. Once they reached the stable, Jack looked at Mac with an arched eyebrow. “Alright, hoss, what are you up to?”

“I might’ve snuck out here earlier while everyone was busy,” Mac said, tugging Jack by the hand toward the stairs at the back of the stable. They climbed up to the loft, and Jack couldn’t stifle a gasp at what he saw. There were blankets and pillows on the floor, along with a couple of camping lanterns. There was also a bottle of wine and a couple of glasses, along with a bottle of massage oil. “I thought maybe we could have a little time alone without everybody listening,” Mac told him, and then his brows furrowed with concern. “Jack, you okay?”

Jack moved his lips a few times but no sound came out, and after a moment he pulled Mac in for a gentle kiss. “I love you so much,” he murmured, cursing himself for getting emotional, but he couldn’t help it. This was so much better than what he imagined when Mac dragged him out to the stable, and his mind was blown. “I can’t believe you did that. You’re amazing.”

“I love you too,” Mac said softly, and he pulled Jack toward the little nest of blankets and pillows. He sat down first and spread his legs so Jack could sit between them, his back to Mac’s chest.

Jack grabbed the wine and pours them a couple glasses, then checked the label and raised his eyebrows. “This wine is older than you, where’d you get it?”

“Found it in the liquor cabinet,” Mac replied, taking a cautious sip. “And it’s not terrible, awesome.”

“Wonder what else we might find in there,” Jack mused, taking a sip himself, and Mac was right, the wine was actually quite good. He set the glass aside and relaxes against Mac’s chest, resting his head on his shoulder. He felt Mac’s arms tighten around him and his lips pressed against his temple, and it was... perfect. Everything was quiet around them except for an occasional neigh coming from downstairs, and Jack couldn’t remember the last time he felt so safe and peaceful. He slid his hand down Mac’s thigh and squeezed his knee. “You okay? I saw you and your dad seemed... better after dinner.”

“Yeah, I think we’re doing okay,” Mac said, nuzzling against Jack’s buzzed-down hair. “And part of the reason for that is you, babe. Thanks for talking to me earlier.”

“Hey, no problem.” Jack squeezed his knee again and smiled when one of Mac’s hand came down to cover his own. “That’s what I’m here for.”

“Mhmm, I can think of some other reasons I might keep you around,” Mac whispered near his ear, and moved his hand off Jack’s to slid it up his thigh instead.

Jack’s breath hitched a little and he tilted his head to look at Mac. He was beautiful, bathed in the soft glow from the lanterns, his blue eyes even more gorgeous than usual. “You just want me for my body,” he muttered, and lifted his head to press their lips together.

Right away Mac licked over Jack’s lower lip and Jack opened up without hesitation, sighing when he felt Mac’s tongue slip into his mouth. Despite the kiss getting deeper, it was still slow, and while there was heat behind it, it didn’t feel rushed. Jack squeezed Mac’s knee again and raised his other hand to tangle his fingers in Mac’s hair as their tongues slid together lazily, the soft smacking of their lips the only sound breaking the silence.

Jack had always been the more dominant personality when he had gone to bed with someone, didn’t matter what gender—he was the one that was loud and talkative, sure, but also the one that had a hard time giving up control. With Mac, though... everything was different. He liked being held, basking in Mac’s warmth, how his touch was gentle but firm, his kisses drawn-out and intoxicating.

When Mac pulled away to breathe there was a fire in his eyes that wasn’t there before, but he tamped it down with quiet words and the lightest touch to Jack’s cheek. “I had an idea earlier, when I was setting this up,” he said. “Do you trust me?”

“You know I do,” Jack whispered, smiling a little when Mac did, turning his head enough to press a kiss to his palm.

“Good,” Mac said, and started tugging at the straps of his brace. “Then let’s get you naked, and I’ll see if I can work some of the kinks out of your back.”

“Mhmm, so the only reason you want to get me naked is so that he can help my back?” Jack said with a grin as Mac’s fingers quickly undid the brace straps and then he tossed it aside.

Next went Jack’s t-shirt and once he was shirtless Mac grinned at him wickedly. “Yeah, that’s the definitely the only reason. I’m a loving boyfriend like that.”

Jack kissed that grin because he could, and since he wasn’t born yesterday and had some idea where this was going, he got out of his jeans and underwear too. Then he laid down on his stomach, folding his arms up underneath his head. Mac straddled the backs of his thighs, and a moment later Jack heard the cap on the oil get opened. When Mac’s slick, warm hands touched his shoulders they grasped at tight muscle and massaged it carefully, making Jack shut his eyes and groan, every part of his body slowly relaxing.

“God, you’re tense,” Mac mutters as he kneads Jack’s shoulders.

Jack just grunted in response, letting out another low moan as Mac continued working out the knots in his shoulders. “Damn, baby, you ever thought of going professional?” he asked after a moment. “You’re so good at this, you could make a living out of this if you get tired of getting shot at.” Belatedly Jack realized that Mac basically quit and for now there would be no shooting involved in his life, but still.

Mac chuckled, digging his thumbs into a spot that made Jack twitch with pain and then sigh when it faded. “I might’ve watched a couple YouTube videos before I decided to attempt this,” he admitted, and his voice dropped to this low register that went straight to Jack’s dick—and the worst part was he probably didn’t know he was doing it. “I understand where all the muscle groups are and everything, but I didn’t want to hurt you by accident.” His hands slid a little lower, closer to where Jack’s injury was, but he stayed away from his spine, trying to work blood into the muscles around it instead.

“When on earth did you—oh god, right there—did you find time to do all that?” Jack asked incredulously, moaning again. “Set this up, go on YouTube—oh god,” he groaned lowly, and he almost missed the way Mac’s breath hitched. “You okay up there, baby?”

“Hmmm? Oh, I’m fine,” Mac said, but there was a fine tremor to the words that said otherwise, like maybe he was a little hot and bothered. “You know me, I’m good at time management.”

Jack couldn’t help but snort at that. “Is that why I’ve seen you fall asleep tinkering with your gizmos? Because you’re good at time management?”

“Fuck you,” Mac replied fondly, pressing down on something in Jack’s lower back that made everything below his waist tingle.

And without thinking about it, Jack moaned for a third time and said, “Please, go ahead.”

Mac’s hands stilled on Jack’s lower back and Jack felt him freeze, it didn’t even sound like he was breathing. “What?” he whispered, and there was something in his voice... something Jack had never heard before. “You’re... you’re serious?”

And Jack realized that... he really, really was. It was probably even more surprising to him than to Mac because he usually... no, he _never_ did that. It’d been a long time since he trusted anyone enough to be with them like that. Jack turned his head enough that he could look at Mac out of one eye, and the astonishment on his face was endearing. He reached back a hand and Mac took it instantly, squeezing his fingers.

“Yeah, Angus, I am,” Jack said quietly, and Mac’s expression softened into something loving and vulnerable that he’d never show the outside world, and it took Jack’s breath away. He brought that hand up to his mouth to kiss the back of it before he let go, unable to stop the smarmy, playful grin that spread on his face. “Now get to it before I change my mind.”

“Patience, babe.” Mac smirked, smacking his ass playfully, and how he could go from endearing to hot in a matter of seconds was a mystery to Jack. Mac quickly unbuttoned his shirt and took it off, his pants following soon after, and then he was leaning down to kiss Jack’s shoulder, careful not to put any of his weight on Jack. “You know,” he started, whispering in Jack’s ear and nipping on the lobe, rolling his hips down and grinding against his ass, already half-hard. “I figured you were exclusively a top.”

“There’s an exception to every rule,” Jack replied, gasping a little when Mac’s mouth moved to his neck, tongue licking over the bite mark he left behind earlier. “Takes a lot for me to trust somebody enough to let them do this.”

“Color me honored,” Mac murmured, and God, he had no idea what he did to Jack with his voice and his words, he got him all twisted up inside so easily. His lips trailed lower still, kissing at the wing of Jack’s shoulder while he rubbed a teasing, oil-slicked finger over Jack’s entrance. Jack sucked in a harsh breath when Mac pushed his finger inside him. “Fuck, you’re so tight,” Mac whined in his ear, moving his finger in and out for a bit before adding a second finger.

Jack swore under his breath, moaning when Mac scissored his fingers and then pushed them deeper inside. The feeling of Mac’s fingers stretching him open like that was amazing and it was way better than with anyone else. Mac’s fingers explored a little, pushing and prodding... and then they found Jack’s prostate and Jack cried out a little, too turned on to be embarrassed. Mac nudged the spot again, and again, and apparently because he was a little shit that liked revenge... he withdrew his fingers almost completely before pushing them all the way back in, hitting Jack’s prostate and keeping his fingers pressed against the spot.

“Dammit, Mac, you’re a pain in my ass,” Jack growled, his hips twitching between the pressure on his prostate and the friction of the blanket underneath him.

They both paused and then burst into laughter once they realized how Jack’s choice of words sounded, and Mac rested his forehead against Jack’s shoulder, his fingers stilling momentarily as he collected himself. “That was too perfect,” he said, chuckling some more before he slid a third finger inside, spreading Jack wider.

Jack moaned with the feeling of it and scrabbled against the pillow under his head, a punched out groan leaving him the next time Mac touched his prostate. “I’m not gonna break, baby. Get in me already.”

“Fine, fine,” Mac muttered and he removed his fingers, kissing Jack’s neck when Jack hissed at the loss. He smacked Jack’s ass playfully again before sitting up behind him and it took Jack a moment to realize that he was pushing the wine bottle and glasses away so that they didn’t accidentally break them. He felt Mac’s presence behind him a few seconds later, but Mac wasn’t moving, so Jack turned his head and saw Mac watching him with a hesitant look on his face. “I just... I don’t wanna hurt you,” he said before Jack could ask what was wrong. “If you’re in any pain, or anything... tell me to stop?”

Jack’s insides melted a little, because... it felt nice, being the focus of Mac’s concern, now that it wasn’t tangled up in bullshit about Nigeria and Kovacs. “I will, I promise,” he assured.

That seems to ease some of the tension in Mac’s expression. He curled himself over Jack, bracing his weight on his forearms on either side of Jack’s body, the head of his cock brushing against Jack’s hole. He started pushing in a moment later, and Jack couldn’t help but let out a long, low moan at the way Mac split him apart, the pressure and fullness of getting fucked something he didn’t know he missed. Once their hips are pressed together, Mac stilled and buried his face in Jack’s neck, panting against his skin.

“God, Jack, you feel so good,” he whispered, and Jack felt him tremble a little.

“You can move, baby,” Jack muttered a moment later, groaning when Mac pulled back a little and gently thrusted in, repeating the motion a few times and setting a slow, steady pace that felt amazing but was also driving Jack insane. He felt how much Mac was holding back, saw the slight shake in his arms from the corner of his eye. “Faster, darlin’, I can take it.”

He was rewarded a moment later when Mac exhaled and started thrusting in and out a little faster, a little sharper, enough to strike Jack’s prostate and make him shudder and moan. He would’ve liked nothing more than to push up and back into Mac’s ministrations, but he knew that would be a terrible idea—so instead he was stuck completely at Mac’s mercy, and it was kind of incredible. He never thought he’d enjoy being trapped and pinned down under someone like that, but he loved it.

“Jack, oh god,” Mac whined, his voice muffled against Jack’s neck, and his thrusts started getting sloppier but also rougher, and Jack cried out when Mac hit his prostate again, much harder this time.

“D-don’t, hold back, baby,” he gasped, and Mac let out a choked moan before completely letting go, his hips slamming into Jack with without mercy. Between the friction of the blanket and the way Mac’s cock kept striking his prostate, it only took a handful of those beautifully jarring thrusts for Jack to come, heat sweeping up his back as he spilled underneath himself. “Oh, Angus, baby, that’s perfect,” he told him, clenching down around Mac and making him whimper as he continued to use Jack’s body. “Come on, darlin’, I wanna feel you come.”

“Jack, Jack, _Jack_ ,” Mac panted against his skin, still pounding into him, and it was almost too much, but it also felt so good that Jack could only keep moaning and let Mac take whatever he wanted from him.

Mac buried his face deeper in Jack’s neck and his hips snapped forward a few more times before Mac started coming with a loud shout, biting down on Jack’s neck as his cock pulsed inside him and filled him up with come. Mac’s hips kept twitching and grinding into him before they eventually stilled and Mac let out a half sob against Jack’s neck, his arms shaking as he struggled to keep himself up.

Mac kind of collapsed off to one side, his softened cock slipping out of Jack’s ass, a muffled groan escaping him when he landed awkwardly. Jack very carefully rolled over and pulled the already-soiled blanket out from underneath himself and used it to clean them both up, then tossed it away and grabbed another one. He laid down on his side and pulled Mac toward him until he was close enough to kiss, every cell in Jack’s body boneless and sated.

“You’re incredible,” he said against Mac’s mouth, draping his arm over his waist to keep them pressed together. “Never enjoyed that as much as I did just now.”

“Well, that makes me feel very good about myself,” Mac murmured, and kissed Jack again, curling his leg over Jack’s thigh.

The kiss was lazy and slow, just soft presses of their lips, and Jack never wanted it to stop. He kept running his hand all over Mac’s body, stroking his back and his side before squeezing his hip and then groping Mac’s ass a little, just for fun. “The best massage ever,” he muttered against Mac’s lips, pinching his ass cheek teasingly.

“I could make a joke about happy endings, but that seems cheap,” Mac said, smiling into their kisses, and Jack felt another random surge of affection, the kind that kept happening more and more now that they were together.

He slid his hand back up Mac’s body to push the hair away from his face, thumb stroking gently over the shell of Mac’s ear. “You wanna sleep out here tonight?” Jack asked, stifling a yawn. “Because I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel like moving. At all. Ever.”

“Mhmm, I like that idea.” Mac smiled again, nuzzling Jack’s cheek. “But won’t the others realize we didn’t come back?”

“Even if they do, then what?” Jack shrugged a little, kissing the corner of Mac’s mouth. “My ranch has become a couples resort anyway.” Mac pulled back and looked at Jack with his brows furrowed and Jack chuckled, realizing that Mac was being his usual, oblivious self. “Oh baby, you really didn’t notice?”

“Well I know Riley and Desi have something going on, they have for a while,” Mac said, his tone betraying his confusion. “Who else are you—oh God. Oh no.” His eyes went wide like saucers, and he smacked Jack’s shoulder, albeit gently. “My dad and Matty? Are you serious? She could do so much better!”

Jack let out a surprised laugh, because that wasn’t what he expected Mac to say. “Yeah, I called her out on it and she basically confirmed it. She also swore me to secrecy, so don’t rat me out, or she’ll have me assassinated.” Mac still looked so shocked, his eyes huge, and he was the cutest thing ever. “You know, I think she’s happy. After what Ethan did... I really liked the dude, but what he did was not cool, man.”

“He reappeared while you were gone, you know,” Mac said absently, still clearly not over the news. “I don’t think I told you.”

“He did?” Jack asked, surprised, and when Mac told him _that_ story he wanted to go find Ethan and strangle him. “You could’ve been killed,” he growled, squeezing Mac around the middle, and it was only Mac’s hand touching his cheek that stopped him from seeing red.

“But I wasn’t,” Mac said, smiling at him a little. “I’m here, with you... and I guess I’m happy for Matty and my dad. It’s just strange, you know? I never really pictured him with anyone but my mom.”

“I know it’ll take a while to get used to,” Jack agreed, his thumb rubbing the skin at Mac’s lower back. “But I think they could be good for each other. I also think we should probably stop talkin’ about your old man while you’re pressed against me like that, all pretty and naked.”

Mac let out an honest-to-God giggle and snuggled closer, pressing a kiss to Jack’s chin. “What, are you afraid he’s gonna show up like the boogeyman and yell at you?”

“Maybe a little,” Jack admitted, and it was his turn to furrow his brow. “I honestly wasn’t sure how he was gonna react to... us. But he doesn’t seem to have a problem with it?”

“And I wouldn’t care if he did,” Mac said, and then he rolled over so Jack’s front was pressed to his back, his arm still tight around Mac’s waist. He yawned, and the sound was adorable. “I love you, Jack. That’s really the only thing that matters.”

“I love you too,” Jack murmured, kissing the back of Mac’s neck and nuzzling his hair.

Mac let out a pleased sigh and it wasn’t long before Jack felt him relax completely, his breathing evening as he drifted away. He pressed another gentle kiss to Mac’s skin, holding him close and wondering how he managed to get so lucky. He was spending the night in the stable at his own ranch in Texas, in a pillow nest that his gorgeous, genius boyfriend set up—it didn’t really get any better than that.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter: SO MANY FUCKING DALTONS!!! Also lots of big brother!Jack feels!!! A pregnant lady!!! Doesn't get any better than that!!! (Side note: this is most likely going to be the second-to-last chapter. The next one will be longer than the others but it'll also be the ending!)

In the morning there was no rooster to wake them up, but Jack heard Juan’s boots stomping around downstairs as he took care of the horses. Since he probably went to the house first he must’ve known they were up in the loft but didn’t call them out on it, and Jack vowed to buy his brother an extremely nice birthday present. Mac stirred in his arms but didn’t wake, not until Jack nuzzled his hair just like he did the night before—then Mac turned over and pressed their lips together in a kiss.

“Morning,” he mumbled, still a little drowsy, smiling when Jack stroked a hand down his back. “Wonder if the appliances got delivered yet.”

“Seriously, man?” Jack chuckled quietly. “That’s the first thing you thought of?” Mac huffed out a laugh, hands coming up to frame Jack’s face. He kissed him again, but pulled back a second later with wide eyes, tensing when he heard Juan moving around downstairs. “Shhh.”

Jack grinned and leaned in again, licking his way into Mac’s mouth. He was sleepy and pliant in Jack’s arms and absolutely adorable, and Jack decided that soft mornings like that with Mac were his favorite part of the day. Mac sighed against his lips, making a little sound in his throat when Jack’s hand carded through his hair, tugging lightly at the ends. Jack wasn’t trying to start anything, not really, he just liked the closeness and the way Mac felt pressed close to him, lean muscles under soft skin.

“I think he’s leaving,” Mac whispered after a moment, and sure enough, Juan’s footsteps trailed out of the stable and stayed gone. “We never would’ve heard the end of it if he’d actually caught us.”

“We’ll never hear the end of it anyway,” Jack said with a grin, brushing Mac’s hair behind his ear. “No one back at the house is dumb enough to think we just... fell asleep while chilling up here.” Mac groaned a little, a pretty blush coloring his cheeks. “Jesus, you’re so cute when you blush.”

“And you have a very odd definition of cute,” Mac said, but he ducked his head in that way he usually did when he was flattered. “Then I guess we have to go down and face the music, huh?”

“It seems that way,” Jack confirmed, pressing his lips to Mac’s forehead.

They sat up and got dressed in their clothes from the night before, doing the walk of shame into the house where Alice was showing Desi and Riley how to make waffles while James and Marisol hooked up the new refrigerator. Nobody said a word to them beyond a “good morning” or “hello” except for Bozer, who made a face like he just caught his parents having sex. Mac stuck his tongue at him, not looking bothered by Bozer’s reaction at all and Jack just chuckled as Mac tugged him into their bedroom.

They quickly got changed, not wanting anyone to think they were banging again, and when they came out they were greeted by a very enthusiastic McClane. “Aw, buddy, you missed us?” Jack grinned, scratching McClane behind his ears.

“Yeah, the cats aren’t too pleased at being abandoned either,” Riley said, walking up to them... and she had Thelma snuggling in her arms while Louise sat on her shoulder, and while Riley looked at them in amusement, the cats didn’t seem happy.

“Sorry, guys,” Mac said sheepishly, and Louise jumped from Riley’s shoulder to Mac’s—and if the way he winced was any indication she used her claws to balance. Thelma, meanwhile, just squinted at both of them and purred, nudging her head against Riley’s hand for more pets.

“I think you’re in the doghouse with Thelma,” Matty commented when she walked in, still in her pajamas, something Jack never thought he’d see. She came up to Mac and handed him his phone, adding, “This vibrated its way onto the floor earlier—somebody wants to get ahold of you and it’s not me for once.”

He took the phone and as soon as he listened to the first voicemail he went stock still. “Mac, what’s wrong?” Juan asked, coming in from outside and toeing off his boots in deference to McClane.

“That, um... Dr. Blake’s been trying to get ahold of me,” Mac said, an odd catch in his voice. He looked at Jack. “He’s briefed his team, and they’ve moved your surgery up to tomorrow morning.”

Everyone went still around them, all the chattering immediately dying down. Jack took a deep breath, pushing any kind of fear he felt away, and reached for Mac’s hand. “That’s... isn’t that a good thing? You said so yourself, the sooner the better,” he said, watching Mac carefully because there was something... off about him. He nodded, but there was this look on his face that Jack didn’t really like, so he squeezed his fingers. “Then what’s wrong?”

Louise nuzzled the side of Mac’s head with her own, no doubt sensing his distress. He swallowed hard and squeezed Jack’s hand back. “I just... didn’t expect it to be so soon, I guess,” he said quietly. “And it’s good that it is, but... I’m still nervous.”

“I think we all are, Angus,” Alice said, wiping her hands off on a dish towel. “Jacky especially, even if he’s trying to play tough guy.”

“Mom,” Jack groaned, because while it was true—he was kind of scared shitless—he didn’t need everyone to know about it. He was sure Mac could tell, he knew Jack better than anyone, but Jack was hoping he was doing a good job fooling everyone else.

“Hey, the plan is good,” James said, walking up closer and patting Jack’s shoulder, and Jack just couldn’t get used to James being so... friendly. “And Angus will be right there, you’re in the best hands.”

“I know, and there’s nobody I trust more,” Jack said, and James smiled at him. “What do I have to do beforehand?”

“No food after eight o’clock tonight—other than that, we show up at the hospital at six tomorrow morning,” Mac said, his thumb rubbing over Jack’s knuckles.

“And we’ll all be there with bells on,” Marisol said, and then considered that and shook her head. “Maybe not with bells on. Lots of coffee, for sure.”

“Six in the morning?” Jack whined, mostly to make Mac smile and he succeeded when Mac chuckled a little.

“Maybe this time you should sleep in an actual bed instead of god knows where,” Desi said with a smirk, and Jack just rolled his eyes while Mac ducked his head and bit his lower lip.

Jack narrowed his eyes at Desi when she cackled. “You sure you wanna talk about that, Dez?” he asked, slowly looking between her and Riley a few times, barely suppressing a smile when they both blushed.

“Hey, we were asleep! Just... not the whole time,” Desi said, and she only blushed harder when Jack laughed.

“Baby, I don’t think you’re convincing anybody,” Riley told her, and Desi slung an arm around her and kissed her cheek.

They were cute, and it wasn’t until Alice declared that breakfast was ready that Jack noticed Marisol ducked out of the house at some point. He looked at Juan to see if he caught that, but he was busy talking to Leanna about something and waving his hands around. He frowned a little, glancing around again, but no, Mari was nowhere to be seen. He squeezed Mac’s hand again and took a step closer to him, leaning in and kissing his cheek.

“I’ll be right back,” he murmured against his skin and then he let go and headed outside. He was about to call out for Marisol when he saw her sitting the fence not too far from the house. He slowly made his way to her and leaned against the fence. “What’s up, little monster? You kinda vanished without a word.”

The look on her face was... odd, something Jack had never seen before. She swung her legs in the air, her hands braced near her hips, long brown hair falling over one shoulder. “Would you believe me if I said I just needed some air?” When Jack just gave her a look and raised an eyebrow, she rolled her eyes. “Fine... if I tell you what’s wrong, you have to promise not to laugh, okay?”

Jack frowned. “Of course I won’t laugh. What is it?”

“I’m lonely,” she said simply, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Do you know I’ve never even been on a date with a boy? Your reputation sorta prevented that.”

Jack blinked at her in surprise, processing what she said. Now that he thought about it he never saw Mari go out with anyone when they were younger, but then again, the age difference between them was big enough that Jack wasn’t really around anymore when she was a teenager. “My reputation?” he repeated with a frown, leaning a bit forward and trying to catch Marisol’s gaze. “What do you mean by that, Mari?”

Marisol pressed her lips together in a frown. “You were... by the time I got to high school, Jacky, you were a legend. But a very real legend, the kind that all the boys my age were afraid would come home on leave and kill them with a pencil or something dumb like that.” She looked down at her boots, scuffed with wear, and tapped the toes together. “I didn’t even have anyone to go with to a dance,” she said, her voice dropping to a whisper. “Mark had to take me. How embarrassing is that, going to a high school dance with your _brother_?” She sniffled, and Jack was alarmed to see that there were tears in her green eyes. “So when I saw all of you in there acting all lovey-dovey, and I knew Juan was thinking of Lauren and Mama was missing Pop... I had to leave before I said something bad and ruined it.”

“Mari, I... I had no idea,” Jack said quietly. He felt awful for not knowing any of that—one of the downsides of him being in the Army and then CIA was limited contact with his family and missing things. He knew Mari would have never told him, but he wished his brothers would have. Maybe then he could have done... something, he didn’t even know what, but something, especially since this was his fault. Suddenly it became clear why Mari was so interested in Mac... and Jack took that from her as well. “Shit, kid,” he said, swallowing hard and feeling guilt eat him up inside. “I didn’t... I never meant... I’m so sorry.”

Marisol made a scoffing sound and leaned over to hug him around the shoulders, burying her face in his neck much like Mac and Riley tended to do. “Jacky, it’s okay. You have to know I’d take you as my brother over a thousand GQ models—not that that’s what I was dealing with in high school, but you get the idea.” Jack hugged her back and chuckles roughly, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. “But sometimes I just wonder if... if staying here all my life is part of the problem,” she continued, leaning back enough to look up at him. “I mean, I went to A&M for farming... but I’ve never gone further than Arkansas, for Christ’s sake. And I know life isn’t all about relationships, and I have no problem being a strong independent woman... but I’d like somebody to laugh with, you know?”

“Look...” Jack started. “You don’t _have_ to stay here, you know that, right? I know it’s home, and I know everyone is here... but Mama would understand.” Marisol opened her mouth, but Jack held up his hand. “Hang on, kid, let me finish. I’m just sayin’, if you wanted to go somewhere else, even if just for a little while, you could go for it. LA, maybe?” he suggested, smiling when Mari chuckled. “I... I don’t know if we’re ever gonna go back, but I still have my apartment, you could always live there if you wanted to.”

Marisol looked at him with huge eyes. “Are you serious? You’d let me do that?” When Jack nodded, she smiled, but then frowned. “What would I do in LA, though? I don’t know anything besides farming.”

“LA could probably use some farmers, maybe you could start a business with grow boxes or something,” Jack said, and he combed that stubborn bit of hair out of her face again. “And if we do go back to the big city, I’m pretty sure I’ll be living at Mac’s place, so you could still have the apartment.”

Marisol raised her eyebrows indignantly. “ _Living_ at Mac’s place? Oh no, you two are gonna get _married_. If you don’t make an honest man out of him Mama’s gonna skin you alive.”

“I thought we were talking about you, not me,” Jack pointed out, ignoring the way his heart jumped at the thought of marrying Mac. When Mari kept glaring fondly at him, he rolled his eyes. “We barely figured it all out yesterday, sis. We have time. But I’m serious, if you wanna change something in your life, even if just for a little while... my offer stands. And hey, if you don’t like it there you can always come back here.”

She smiled at him, her whole face lighting up. “Thanks, Jacky.” She leaned in and kissed his cheek. “And if you tell anybody about this I’ll kill you.”

“Fair enough,” Jack said, and they walked back to the house arm-in-arm... only to find Mac and Juan up on the roof. “What on earth are you two nutjobs doing?”

“We had breakfast and then your mom kicked us out,” Mac told him, scraping the hair out of his eyes. “So we decided to start stripping the shingles off the roof.”

“It’s a mess up here, Jacky,” Juan told him, tossing some shingles into a dumpster that Jack didn’t even know was on the property, let alone had gotten moved that close to the house. “I’ve found like, three dead birds and we just started.”

“Fascinating,” Jack said with a grin. “You need any help?”

“The only thing you’re allowed to do is sit and watch,” Mac said, and gave Jack a pointed look when he started to protest. “Don’t even try arguing with me, babe, or I’ll tell your mom.”

“Come on, you gotta stop using that against me!” Jack whined, glaring at his siblings when Juan and Mari started laughing.

“Jack Wyatt Dalton, if you don’t get your butt in here to eat breakfast there’s gonna be hell to pay!” Alice called from inside. “That goes for you too, Marisol!”

They scuttled inside and grabbed plates, but since everyone else had already eaten they headed back outside to the porch, listening to Mac and Juan rattle around up above them. From what Jack glimpsed in the kitchen it looked like James had enlisted Bozer for help putting in the new stove and once that was done, Alice had gotten Riley, Desi, and Leanna to help her with the food for the big party tonight.

“Marisol, once you’re done I wanna see you right here helping!” Alice’s voice sounded again.

Jack snickered a little before calling back: “What about me, Ma? Can I help? I can’t just sit and do nothin’!”

“If you do anything more than sittin’ and breathin’, Jacky, your broken back will be the least of your problems!” Alice threatened right away, and Jack heard Juan and Mac cackling on the roof.

Marisol grumbled under her breath but headed inside with their empty plates, and a moment later Matty came out to join Jack on the porch, handing him a mug of coffee. “Thanks, boss lady,” he said, taking a careful sip and still almost burning his tongue.

“You’re welcome, Dalton. This is... nice.” Matty gestured vaguely at the ranch. “It’s very peaceful. Well, except for the idiots on the roof.”

“I heard that!” Mac called out, and Matty rolled her eyes.

“Good! Now get back to work,” she shouted back, and Jack couldn’t help but grin when Mac grumbled something quietly.

They sat in silence for a while and Jack stared at his mug before glancing at Matty. “Matty, I’m... thank you,” he said quietly, not wanting Mac and Juan to eavesdrop. “For comin’ down here, for the sabbatical thing... everything.” Jack took a deep breath, dropping his voice even lower. “And for not letting Mac quit. I’m... I’m glad he has the option to come back if he chooses to. I didn’t want him to have any regrets in the future.”

Matty shrugged, but she was smiling. “You and I both know we don’t _let_ Blondie do anything—if he wants to quit bad enough, then that’s what he’ll do. But I think it’s pretty telling that he was ready to quit on the spot to help you, even if he didn’t know you returned his feelings.”

Jack felt himself flush a little, and he rubbed the back of his neck. “He’s... remarkable, but we already knew that.”

“Yeah, we did,” Matty agreed, and she patted him on the knee.

James and Bozer came outside too, sitting on the steps on either side of their little huddle. “You guys got kicked out too, huh?” Jack asked, amused.

“Well, neither one of us can cook, so I guess we’re a lost cause,” Bozer said. “Or at least that’s what your mom said.”

“What the hell, Bozer, you can cook!” Jack exclaimed, narrowing his eyes when Bozer looked like a deer caught in headlights. “You didn’t say anything because you wanna get out of helping! Hell no, MOM!” Jack called out, ignoring Bozer swearing under breath and James cackling. “Bozer’s a liar, he’s always cookin’ when we get together!”

There was a moment of silence, kind of like calm before the storm before Alice’s voice thundered from the house. “Wilt Bozer, you get your ass back here right now!”

James and Matty both cracked up as Bozer shot a glare in Jack’s direction and shuffled back inside. Mac hung upside-down off the roof to look at them and almost gave Jack a heart attack. “Did Bozer really lie about not being able to cook?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Evidently,” James said, still looking amused. “Jesus, I remember when you used to hang out of trees like that.” He glanced at Jack. “He was constantly climbing everything as soon as he figured out he could. Broke his arm that way when he was six.”

“Aww, really?” Jack grinned, his smile widening when Mac glared at James, who didn’t seem to care in the slightest. “No self-preservation instincts even then, why am I not surprised?” In response Mac just stuck his tongue out at him. “And here I thought you spent your days setting your dad’s tool shed on fire.”

“That was an accident!” Mac exclaimed, his ridiculous hair waving around.

“Still not sure about that,” James grumbled, and Jack couldn’t stop grinning.

Mac rolled his eyes. “Oh, like you never set any of Mom’s stuff on fire by accident.”

“Well... I did sort of burn her wedding dress,” James admitted, looking suitably regretful. “I may have gotten distracted and left some paint too close to the sun in the attic... God, she was so pissed.”

“For good reason!” Matty exclaimed, and that got them all laughing again.

An SUV rolled up the driveway toward them, and from the roof Juan said, “Oh good, Lauren’s here with the kids!” And instead of going back up and climbing down the ladder like a normal person, Mac just flipped off the roof and landed on his feet in the dirt.

“Jesus, dude, you’re gonna give me a heart attack one day,” Jack said, rolling his eyes when Mac just grinned widely. “Your bones are not made of rubber, you know that, right?”

“Seriously? I had no idea,” Mac said teasingly, dusting off his jeans a little.

Juan climbed down the ladder just as the SUV stopped and Lauren got out of the car. The back door opened and three kids stumbled out, immediately running in their direction. “Uncle Jack!” they screamed simultaneously, but they didn’t tackle him like they normally would’ve. Instead they stopped short and looked at him until he opened his arms, and _then_ they were all over him.

“Daddy told you got hit by a car.” The oldest at ten, Jacqueline—yes, Jack cried when she was born and Juan and Lauren named her after him—was practically vibrating with excitement. “Was it cool? Did you fly through the air?”

“Jackie!” Both Juan and Lauren exclaimed, but their daughter didn’t falter, still grinning widely at Jack.

“Oh I flew alright, real high,” Jack said, winking at the kids. “Wouldn’t recommend it though, it hurt like a son of—” Jack stopped himself at the very last second, god, he was out of practice when it came to watching the language. “A lot. Hurt a lot, so it wasn’t fun.”

Lauren came closer, and now Jack saw she was carrying a gigantic tray of barbecued chicken wings in front of her very pregnant belly. “Figured we should bring something, and I know how much you love these, Jack,” she said, and James hopped up to bring them inside. She bent down to hug him, her blonde hair as bright in the sun as Mac’s. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine,” Jack said, sighing when Lauren pulled back and raises her eyebrow. “Really, Lauren, I’m good, much better than I was at first. What about you?” He pointed at her belly. “When are we welcoming the newest Dalton to this cruel world?”

“Three weeks or so,” Lauren replied, smiling and resting her hands on her belly.

Before Jack could ask more—like if he was gonna have a niece or a nephew since they’d been hiding it from him, he saw the kids run to Juan while eyeing Mac with excitement written all over their faces. “Daddy, daddy.” Rafael, eight years old, the current middle child, tugged on Juan’s hand. “Is that him?”

Juan messed up Rafael’s hair affectionately. “Yes it is,” he said. “Jackie, Rafael, and Adrienne—” the current youngest at five “—this is Angus MacGyver, Uncle Jack’s boyfriend.

“Hey, guys,” Mac said, a warm smile on his face as he crouched down to get on their level.

They all looked at him for a moment, and when he raised a questioning eyebrow, it was Adie who spoke: “We’re waiting for you to blow something up.”

Mac laughed loudly. “As much as I’d love to—” Jack didn’t have any doubts that he would “—I don’t think your uncle would be happy with me blowing up his ranch.”

“I definitely wouldn’t,” Jack agreed with a nod. “Don’t give him any ideas, I’m begging you. What did you tell them about him?” he addressed the last question to Juan who just shrugged with a grin.

“I guess I could cook up some fireworks for the evening if you want?” Mac asked, and the kids’ jaws dropped open.

“You can do that?” Rafael asked, and the smile on Mac’s face grew wicked, making Jack groan as he buried his face in his hands.

“I sure can, and you guys can help me if your parents say it’s okay,” Mac told them, and all three kids turned toward Juan and Lauren.

Juan looked vaguely terrified but Lauren just rolls her eyes. “Yeah, go ahead,” she said. “Just don’t lose any fingers.”

Mac looked at Jack. “Where do you keep the spare ammo? I need a lot of gunpowder.”

“I’ll show you,” Jack said, and pushed himself to his feet. The gun safe was in the closet in the master bedroom...

~***~

… which meant as soon as they were in the back of the house, away from everyone else, Jack gave Mac a kiss.

“What was that for?” Mac asked with a chuckle, looping his arms around Jack’s waist. “Not that I’m complaining, but I’m not sure homemade fireworks call for a make out session.”

“Why not? Everything calls for a make out session as far as I’m concerned,” Jack teased, leaning in and kissing Mac again. “But that’s for... being you, I guess. And getting along so well with the kids, and my siblings... all of it.” The look on Mac’s face softened and he smiled when Jack pressed their lips together again. “You’re so amazing, darlin’.”

Mac kissed him back, and this time he didn’t let go, licking into Jack’s mouth briefly before pulling away. “It’s not like it’s hard,” he said, shrugging a little. “Everybody’s really nice, and you’ve told enough stories about me that it kind of feels like they already know me... and you’ve told me so much about them that it works the other way, too. Besides, what kid doesn’t like blowing stuff up?”

Jack blinked at him before laughing loudly and kissing Mac’s cheek. “You know, in the past I would’ve said it was just you, but after seeing the little ones look way too excited about it...” he shrugged a little, smiling when Mac grinned. He wrapped his arms around Mac and pulled him for another kiss, nipping on his lower lip before deepening the kiss, loving the way Mac melted in his arms.

“Uncle Jack, Uncle Jack!” Jacqueline’s voice sounded outside the door, startling them and making Jack pull back. “Daddy said to tell you to stop hugging Uncle Mac and return him to us!”

“You tell your daddy that I’ll hug Uncle Mac for as long as I’d like, I’m injured!” Jack hollered back, but he was smiling. He saw the shocked look on Mac’s face and his smile turned into a grin. “What? They love you already.”

“That’s... really nice,” Mac said softly, and he gave Jack one last kiss on the cheek before they walk back out into the house—where even more chaos had developed because Warren and his wife Mia arrived, along with their seven kids. “Oh my god,” he whispered with wide eyes when they walked outside, not used to the Dalton madness.

Jack only smiled and let go of his hand when he saw Warren heading in the direction. “Jacky, you stubborn bastard,” his older brother said, pulling him in a gentle hug. “One day more and I would’ve come down here to drag you out of this shithole.”

“Heard the same thing from Mama,” Jack muttered into Warren’s shoulder. He was the oldest, well over fifty, and all his kids except for two were grown. The eldest one, Camden, even had a wife and a couple kids of his own (he was also Mac’s age, a fact Jack tried not to look at too closely).

Speaking of Mac, Jack introduced him to Warren, who shook his hand and says, “So you’re the guy who makes tough ol’ Jacky here turn all mushy, huh? Good for you.”

Mac glanced at Jack with amusement before looking back at Warren. “I guess I am, although... we all know he’s a big softie on the inside.”

Warren grinned wildly, patting Mac’s shoulder. “Hell yeah, he is! I like this one, Jacky, about damn time you found someone who can see right through you.”

Jack just rolls his eyes and tugs Mac away, introducing him to Warren’s kids one by one. “And this is Cam,” Jack said, coming to the end of the line. “And his lovely wife Maria, and their twin girls, Carol and Corinne.”

“It’s okay if you forget our names, we’ll understand,” Camden joked, and Jack knew it didn’t escape Mac’s notice that Warren’s first kid was his own age.

“I’ll try my best not to,” Mac promised, and one of the twins—they were three years old and adorable—latched on to Mac’s hand and stared up at him with giant brown eyes.

Mac smiled down at her and bent down to pick her up, and Jack almost melted when he saw that. “Wow, Uncle Jack, you’re so smitten,” Camden said with a grin, and Jack was sure he also saw he was Mac’s age, but he didn’t comment on it either. “Never thought I’d see that.”

This wasn’t the first time Jack had been lovesick—Sarah was an excellent example of that—but it was the first time his family had gotten to witness it. He smiled back at his nephew, and laughed when his grand-niece (Jesus Christ, he was old) put her hands on Mac’s face and felt his features, then decided he was acceptable to sleep on, her tiny arms looping around his neck.

“Corinne’s a real ham,” Mia commented, as only a grandmother could. “She’s cute and she knows it.”

Carol, meanwhile, was dressed in a Captain Marvel costume and zooming around the front yard with the other kids, filled with boundless energy. “Remember when we were like that, Jacky?” Warren asked, punching him lightly in the bicep. “Now I’m lucky if I can run a mile without wanting to die.”

“That’s because you’re old,” Jack teased, grinning when Warren glared at him. “I can still run just fine. Well, maybe not at the moment, but still,” he corrected himself, trying not to think about the possibility of never getting back in shape.

“Uncle Mac!” Juan’s kids appeared out of nowhere, surrounding Mac like hyperactive puppies. “Can we make fireworks now?” Rafael asked while Adie wraps her arms around his legs, looking up with wide eyes. “Please?”

“Fireworks?” Maria asked, her eyebrows rising. She still had a definite accent from growing up in Mexico, but her English had improved leaps and bounds since she first met Cam.

“Yeah, Mac’s a real wizard when it comes to stuff like this,” Juan told her, and pretty soon Mac was surrounded by children.

Desi came outside and said, “Alice wants to know what everybody wants for lunch.”

“Mark’s picking up pizza on his way over, supposedly,” Lauren said, one hand on her lower back like it hurt. “He’s also bringing the beer, so let’s pray everything fits in his truck.”

Meanwhile Rafael tugged on Jack’s jeans and said, “I’ve never seen someone who looks like her.”

It took Jack a second to realize he meant Desi, and another second to work out that he didn’t mean her being Vietnamese, but being covered in tattoos. “That’s my friend Desi,” Jack told him, and smiled a little at the wide-eyed expression on Rafael’s face. “And all that stuff on her? Those are her tattoos. You wanna take a closer look?” Rafael nodded shyly and Jack grabbed his hand, turning back to Mac. “Wait with the fireworks for a bit, yeah? Rafa wants to check out Desi’s tattoos.” Mac just nodded with a smile and then Jack took Rafael to Desi. “Hey, Dez, you got a minute?”

“Sure,” Desi said, and smiled when she saw Rafael. She crouched down to his level. “Hey, buddy.”

“This is Rafael, he’s one of Juan’s kids,” Jack told her. “He’s never seen someone who has so many tattoos before.”

“You have drawings all over you!” Rafael exclaimed. “When I draw on myself Mommy gets mad.”

Desi laughed and held out her arm invitingly. “You wanna touch them? They feel just like skin.”

Rafael slowly raised his hand and touched Desi’s arm. “Wow,” he breathed out, tracing the tattoos with his fingers. “They’re sooooo pretty.”

Desi chuckled again, and after a while Rafael ran away, probably to ramble about Desi to his siblings. “Cute kid,” she said with a grin. “And I see Mac’s taking it all in stride,” she added, gesturing at Mac who was apparently the main attraction.

“Nah, I expect him to be looking for help any second now,” Jack said, because he knew how Mac was—and sure enough, a moment later Mac looked up and mouthed “help me” while staring at Jack with wide eyes. “There it is.” He whistled to get the attention of the kiddos. “Hey! We’re gonna do this fireworks thing in the backyard! Let’s go!”

“Did someone said fireworks?” James appeared on the porch with an excited look on his face, and for a second Jack swore he saw Mac there instead of James.

He followed the kids to the backyard and Jack walked up to Mac whose arms were now empty, so Jack assumed Corinne didn’t want to sleep any longer and joined the other kids in running around. He was still looking at Jack with wide eyes and Jack chuckled, wrapping his arms around him and linking his fingers on Mac’s lower back. “You okay, baby?”

“Yeah, I... I think so?” Mac said, but it sounded more like a question.

His hair was ruffled, he was a little sweaty, and Jack loved him so damn much. His words made Jack snicker, and he leaned in to plant a kiss on his mouth. “They love you, darlin’. That’s a good thing.”

“You wanna make us watch the fireworks?” Mac asked, his hands coming up to frame Jack’s face.

“I’d rather make some fireworks of our own,” Jack murmured, pulling him in for another kiss. “But I don’t think that’ll fly with the family.”

Mac wrapped his arms around Jack’s neck and after breaking the kiss he nuzzled his cheek. “Jack,” he whined, scraping Jack’s jaw with his teeth. “You can’t just say things like that when I won’t be able to get you alone for hours.”

“Sorry, darlin’.” Jack wasn’t sorry at all, though he did wish he could steal Mac away to the stable and their pillow nest.

“Aw, ain’t that cute,” Warren’s voice sounded nearby, just as Jack was pressing their lips together again. He growled quietly before looking in his direction and saw Warren and Camden watching them in amusement.

“I’m so tempted to say ‘get a room’, never thought I’d be telling Uncle Jack that.” Camden grinned before he frowned a little. “Should I call you Uncle Mac like the kids do?” he suddenly asked, looking at Mac, and Jack wanted to die, once again remembering Mac was the same fucking age as his nephew.

Mac seemed unfazed, shrugging his shoulders and smiling at Cam. “Call me whatever you want,” he said, and then slipped from Jack’s grasp and nodded toward the backyard. “Come on, it’s not just the kids who get to have fun.”

They walked on ahead, and Warren hung back to keep pace with Jack. “Something’s on your mind, Jacky,” he noted. “And it’s got something to do with Cam. What’s up?”

Jack opened his mouth to protest, but when he saw the look on Warren’s face he gave up. His older brother knew him too well to let it go, so Jack just sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s nothin’, man, it’s just... I kinda haven’t realized before that they’re the same age. Mac and Cam, I mean,” he said, not looking at Warren, because a part of him was afraid of his reaction. “I already felt like a creepy old man when I was pining after him, but now... I can’t believe no one called me out on it yet.”

Warren put a hand on Jack’s shoulder, stopping him before they reached the others. “Jacky, Mac’s a grown man. He can make his own choices, and if he chooses to be with you, then I’d count my blessings because you’re a fucking handful.” He squeezed Jack’s shoulder, and when he finally got up the nerve to look at his brother, he saw nothing but affection and understanding on his face. “You’re not a creepy old man. You fell in love with somebody younger than you, it happens all the time. And if he doesn’t have a problem with it, then neither should you.”

“I don’t, I just... I don’t want him to regret it down the road, you know? And realize that maybe he wasted time being with me,” Jack said quietly, not even knowing where this was coming from.

“Don’t be an idiot, Jacky,” Warren replied, patting his shoulder. “You’d have to be blind to not see he loves you just as much as you love him. You have nothin’ to worry about.” He smiled widely and Jack couldn’t help but smile back, his chest a little lighter. “Now go ahead and make sure they don’t start firing until later, Mark and company will kill us if they miss it. Speaking of, I’m gonna call him and see why they’re so late.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is it! We've reached the end of this fic with one last HUGE chapter to round everything out! **Note: This chapter contains a semi-graphic at-home birth, so if that's a squick, stop reading when Lauren says "Either I just pissed my pants or my water broke" and start again when you see "Alice took it upon herself to calm down Jacqueline, Rafael and Adrienne who were very excited to meet their new baby brother and wanted to go _right now_."** Kaja and I are both extremely grateful for how y'all have supported this fic and embraced our made-up Daltons, and we _did_ have an idea for a sequel that involves the boys going back to LA... and Marisol coming with them. Let us know if that's something you wanna see! ;) <3

As if he were summoned by Warren’s words, Mark’s pickup truck rolled into the driveway—it was a double-cab with an extended bed, and it was filled to the brim with pizza boxes, cases of beer and soda, and people. “There they are!” Warren exclaimed, and when Mark got out of the truck he went over to pick him up in a bear hug.

“Dude, you just saw me yesterday!” Mark exclaimed, but hugged him back anyway.

His girlfriend, Sydney, got out of the passenger’s side and helped her two little kids out of the back. They were six and four, respectively, and from a previous relationship that Jack gathered had a violent element from the way Sydney still sometimes avoided eye contact or flinched. She came right up to him, though, giving him a hug. “Hi, Jack. How are you doing?”

“Been better, but I’ll be fine, Syd,” Jack said, and gently hugged her back. She pulled back with a smile and after he said hi to the kids, she grabbed their hands and led them to the others.

“You!” Mark’s voice made Jack turn his head to him and he saw his brother walking in his direction, and he knew he was about to get yelled at by yet another sibling. “Heard you were a pain in Mama’s ass _again_ , Jacky.”

Jack groaned theatrically and hugged his brother when he got close enough. “Take it easy on me, Marky, I’m getting sliced open tomorrow.”

“All the more reason to give you shit,” Mark said, and together they walked to the backyard. “So that’s MacGyver, huh? Looks like he has his own little army.” And sure enough, Mac had all the kids performing age appropriate tasks—the little ones lined up the cardboard tubes they were going to use to house the fireworks, the bigger ones were cutting fuses, and the teenagers (and Cam) were prying open bullets to get to the gunpowder inside.

“Yeah, they all love him,” Jack said fondly, smiling when he saw Mac walk around, supervising the kids, and Jack almost died laughing when he spotted James sitting cross-legged on the ground and helping the youngest kids with the tubes. Mac must’ve heard him laugh because he looked ups, smiling widely, and he started walking to them. “Mark, this is Mac, my boyfriend,” Jack said when Mac got close enough, and damn, it felt amazing to call him that.

“Never thought the day would come that Jacky would introduce all of us to someone.” Mark grinned, shaking Mac’s hand. “You must be real special.”

Mac smiled back at Mark and ducked his head a little. “I don’t know about that.”

That just seemed to entertain Mark even more. “And he’s humble, wow,” he said, elbowing Jack. “Quite the catch you’ve got here.”

Jack grinned too, and at this point his cheeks were starting to hurt from all the happiness. “Oh, I know. I’m a lucky fella.”

Sydney came over and Mac shook her hand too, and Jack spotted the way he gentled his grip just slightly. Something in his eyes softened too, and pretty soon he had recruited Syd to help him with the fireworks, and they were having some kind of conversation where he actually made her laugh.

He glanced at Mark and his brother was watching Mac and Sydney in awe. “I’ve... I’ve never seen her warm up this quickly to anyone,” he said softly, and Jack’s heart clenched a little.

Mark was the youngest of the Dalton brothers and even though Marisol was younger it was Mark that Jack sometimes forgot wasn’t a little kid anymore. “He has his way with people,” Jack said quietly, watching Mark for a moment before speaking again, “Hey, you know I never pried, but... everything alright, Marky? Is she okay?”

Mark glanced at him. “Syd’s ex-husband is a real asshole,” he said, sliding his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “I don’t think I ever told you this, but I actually met her while I was still working at the hospital as a custodian. She was there because he broke her arm in two places and had bashed Leo’s head into the wall—he was two years old then.” He sighed. “Derek’s in prison now, but Sydney’s always gonna be looking over her shoulder. I’ve always just been grateful that she got away from him before it was too late.”

Jack tensed a little and clenched his fists, hating that his assumptions turned out to be true. “You could’ve told me you know,” he said, smiling a little when he saw Sydney laugh with Mac again. “I would’ve gladly dealt with that piece of garbage. As a matter of fact... I still could. Just say a word and he’ll never see the light of the outside world again.”

“I know, Jacky, and I appreciate it,” Mark said warmly. “But if I did that Syd would know exactly what happened and she’d never forgive me for going behind her back. She says she wants him to rot in prison, so that’s where he’s gonna stay.”

Jack hummed his acknowledgment, and pretty soon the fireworks were assembled and everyone was clamoring for lunch, so Mark and Warren and Cam unload the pizza. They ate sitting on the grass in the backyard, and everybody who was in the kitchen came out to join them too. Jack wound up squished between Riley and Mac and couldn’t have been happier about it.

Juan licked grease off his fingers and said, “Okay, so what embarrassing stories from our childhood has Jack _not_ told you?”

“I told them everything,” Jack immediately said, shooting Juan a warning glare that his brother completely ignored.

“Mhmm, I’m sure we can find something.” Juan grinned, and Jack changed his mind about his birthday present.

“Hey, what about the one when Jacky fell off a tractor?” Warren suggested, and Jack’s eyes widened.

“I don’t think he mentioned that,” Mac said with a wide grin and Jack pouted at him with a betrayed look on his face.

Alice rolled her eyes. “Oh Lord, I remember that day. I didn’t know it was possible for your father to be so riotously pissed off and worried sick at the same time.”

“Oh, did I say he fell off a tractor? It wasn’t that simple—he tried to use to jump a fence!” Juan exclaimed, cackling like a bastard.

“How drunk were you?” Leanna asked, which set everybody laughing.

“That’s the worst part!” Warren said. “He was trying to impress a girl, and he was stone-cold sober! It was that blond, what was her name... Mary Sue? Mary something, anyway.”

Jack kind of felt like strangling his brothers, but at the same time he couldn’t stop the happiness from spreading in his chest. “You’re one to talk, Warren,” Jack drawled, arching his eyebrow. “If I remember correctly you signed up for the rodeo... while not competing even once before in your life. And fell on your ass quite spectacularly.”

“Alright, alright!” Warren held up his hands when everyone started laughing. “But at least I actually married the girl I was trying to impress, so it worked!”

Mia snorted so hard she almost choked on her pizza. “If you think _that’s_ why I started going out with you, you’re crazy,” she told Warren, who actually _blushed_ , so that made Jack feel a little better about himself.

Or at least it did until Lauren made an odd sound and put down her plate, one hand going to her baby bump.

“Honey? Are you okay?” Juan asked, his face concerned.

She looked first at him and then the rest of them with huge eyes. “Either I just pissed my pants or my water broke.”

~***~

Everyone was silent for a split second before chaos erupted.

“I thought you said three weeks or so!” Jack exclaimed as everyone scrambled up to their feet.

“Oh god, oh my god, oh my god,” Juan kept chanting, staring at Lauren with wide eyes.

She smacked his head. “Juan, get a fucking grip, we’ve been through this three times already!”

“Car keys, we need car keys!” Mark called out, patting his pockets. “You need to get to the hospital!”

The only one completely calm was Alice who watched them all for a moment before clearing her throat. “Everyone, calm down!” she said and miraculously everyone shut up, staring at her. “Y’all are acting like this is the first labor in this family, _relax_.”

“All due respect, Alice, I don’t think I can relax,” Lauren said, her breathing getting faster. She gripped Juan’s arm so tightly her knuckles were white. “I also don’t think I’m gonna make it to a hospital.” And despite the fact that she told Juan to get a grip, she was scared, Jack saw it in her eyes.

“Then we need to get you inside,” Mac said, getting on Lauren’s other side, and together he and Juan pulled her to her feet. “Bozer, Leanna, grab some towels from the bathroom and lay them on one of the beds, then take the rest and put them on top of the oven to get them warm. I’m also gonna need a basin of warm water, and somebody find a bottle of good whiskey—she’s gonna need something to take the edge off. Oh, and call an ambulance—after the baby’s born they’ll still need to go to a hospital.”

Bozer and Leanna immediately ran into the house and Juan with Mac started slowly walking Lauren inside. “Warren, Mia, can you gather up the kids and... contain them?” Jack asked, and his brother saluted him before he and Mia got to work.

Jack went inside the house and headed for the liquor cabinet, making a triumphant sound when he finds a bottle of decent whiskey and then he went to one of the bedrooms where Lauren was already resting on the mattress. “Hey, you’re gonna be fine,” he murmured, running his fingers through her hair, and also patting Juan’s shoulder. “I know it’s probably not what you imagined, but you’re in good hands, I promise.” James joined Mac, and the two of them were quietly talking, probably coming up with a plan. “These two may not be doctors, but they’re geniuses. They got this.”

“I’m gonna hold you to that, Jack—oh my _God_ I hate everything and everyone!” That sentence ended with clenched teeth as Lauren went through a contraction, and when Jack offered her the bottle of whiskey she took a slug with zero preamble.

Mac came over with his dad a moment later, and they got her shorts and underwear off before covering her lap with a towel, not that modesty was a huge concern at that point. “We’re about to get to know each other really well,” Mac told her, earning himself a laugh as he bent down to look between her legs. “Jesus, you weren’t kidding—you’re almost fully dilated.”

“Must’ve been the tractor story,” Lauren said, winking at Juan. “You know how hearing about Daltons doing stupid shit gets me going.” Everybody chuckled a little, but then Lauren let out another pained sound, squeezing Juan’s hand so tight that he winced, looking at Jack with wide eyes. At the same time Alice, Mark and Warren came in, the guys looking a little green. “What, I’m gonna have an audience?” Lauren gritted out. “You boys don’t look too good.”

“Mama forced us,” Warren and Mark both muttered.

Alice didn’t seem phased. “I ain’t missing the birth of my grandchild. Also now is about damn time to tell us if it’s a boy or a girl.”

“A boy,” Lauren gasped out, and Jack headed around the other side of the bed so she could hold his hand too.

He glanced down and saw that Mac and James were both covered in blood and other fluids up to their elbows, and when Mac wiped a bead of sweat off his face with the back of his hand he wound up with a red stripe over his eye. “Lauren, you’re gonna have to push on the next contraction, okay?”

She screamed an obscenity in response and did exactly that. Meanwhile Marisol, Desi, Riley, Matty, and Leanna all filtered in—Bozer evidently elected to stay outside with the kids and Mia, Maria, and Sydney.

“You’re doing great, baby—” Juan started.

“I KNOW!” Lauren cut Juan off, gripping Juan’s and Jack’s hands, and Jack was kind of scared of her at the moment. “This is all your damn fault! You just had to go and knock me up FOUR FUCKING TIMES!”

Jack would’ve chuckle at that except he didn’t want to have anything else besides his back broken.

“Almost there, Lauren, just hang in there,” James said, his voice completely calm, and Lauren just grumbled in response before pushing again with a loud scream.

This cycle continued for a few minutes, the pushing and screaming, and one moment Jack looked over and saw James and Mac, and the next he realized Mac was holding a baby in his arms. He was absolutely covered in blood and mucus but he didn’t seem to care, too intent on cleaning up the baby and making sure he was breathing—or crying, rather.

“Congratulations, Lauren, you did it,” Mac said softly, soothing the baby by rubbing his back.

James picked a pair of scissors out of the first aid kit and held them out to Juan. “You wanna cut the cord?”

Juan stared at him before taking the scissors with a shaking hand and after a moment he took a deep breath and cut the cord. Jack couldn’t help but smile softly and when he looked up he saw his mama tearing up. Actually, everyone looked pretty emotional, including Matty much to Jack’s surprise, but he was smart enough to not bring it up. In the meantime James and Mac cleaned the baby up as much as they could and they wrapped him in a clean towel and handed the bundle to Lauren.

She was crying, whether from pain or happiness was hard to tell. Maria stuck her head in the door to announce that the ambulance was there, and soon the paramedics came in to whisk mom and baby to the hospital along with Juan. Camden and Maria elected to follow them in one of the vehicles in case Juan wanted to come home for the night, and then it was over as soon as it started. People collected the dirty towels to get thrown out, and Mac and James took turns in the shower and changed their clothes.

~***~

Alice took it upon herself to calm down Jacqueline, Rafael and Adrienne who were very excited to meet their new baby brother and wanted to go _right now_. Everyone eventually migrated back outside, but Jack chose to wait for Mac to be done with his shower, his heart beating wildly. Watching Mac get along with everyone so well, then helping Lauren and being... well, _Mac_ , it makes Jack so happy that he felt like he might burst.

As soon as Mac was out of the bathroom Jack wrapped his arms around him and pulled him in for a kiss. Mac went willingly, laughing against Jack’s lips and when he pulled back he smiled his wide sunshine smile, the one Jack had only ever seen Mac smile at him. “What was that for?” His blue eyes glinted happily and his wet hair was a mess, and he was the most beautiful thing in the world.

Jack smiled softly and leaned in to kiss his lips again before nuzzling his cheek. “Marry me,” he whispered against Mac’s skin before he even knew what he said, and Mac stilled in his arms. “I know it’s too soon, I don’t have a ring and I can’t even get on one knee, but... marry me.”

Mac leaned back far enough to look Jack in the eyes, his hands coming up to frame his face. “You’re serious?” he asked, and when Jack nodded, Mac grinned at him again, pure bright sunshine. “Then yes, I’ll marry you. Of course I will.” He reeled Jack in for another kiss, smiling against his mouth, and Jack slid a hand up his back to tangle it in his hair. “I love you, Jack,” Mac told him when they broke apart, and then he raised an eyebrow. “You look surprised. Did you think I’d say no?”

“I... I don’t know?” Jack said, not quite believing that this actually happened. “I mean, we’ve been together for like... a day, but I just... God, I love you so much.” Jack held Mac a little tighter and kissed him again, harder this time, crowding Mac against the wall in the hallway. “I feel like I’m dreamin’,” he muttered against Mac’s lips before licking inside his mouth again and swallowing the soft moan Mac let out.

“Me too,” Mac murmured, his hands sliding down to Jack’s neck, covering his drumming pulse and stroking over his beard with his thumbs. “If you think about it, though, we’ve been together for a lot longer than a day... we just didn’t know it.”

Jack chuckled and kissed Mac’s cheek, then his birthmark, scraping his teeth along the pigmented skin. “Yeah, that sounds like us. Couple of morons.”

“What are you doing?” a little voice asked from the end of the hall, and Jack froze before turning his head slowly to see Carol standing at the end of the hallway, looking at them curiously.

He recovered quickly. “Just talkin’ about some adult stuff, peanut.” He reluctantly stepped back and smiling when Mac winked at him and walked over to Carol to pick her up.

Together they walked outside where everyone else was and Jack should have known that his family wouldn’t leave them alone. “There you are!” Mark grinned. “What kept you inside for so long?”

Jack loved his brother, he really did, but sometimes hitting him was just too tempting.

“Oh no, did Carol interrupt something?” Warren joined in, smiling widely while Mac handed off the oblivious child to Mia, and as much as Jack loved all of them, he really wanted to have a moment alone with Mac, especially considering the fact that he was now his fiancé.

Mac shrugged, all false casual. “Just us getting engaged, no big deal,” he said, and grinned when Warren and Mark both shouted their surprise.

“Did I hear what I think I just heard?” Alice asked, and pretty soon everybody surrounded them with congratulations.

“Now you’re gonna be a Dalton for real,” Marisol said before she hugged Mac, grinning at Jack over his shoulder.

James caught Jack’s attention by putting a hand on his shoulder, and then he pulled him into a hug. “Congratulations,” he said quietly, much to Jack’s astonishment. “I’m happy for you both.” Jack felt like he stepped into another dimension, but James just chuckled when he saw the look on his face and he went to hug Mac as well.

“I’ll be honest, Jacky, I lost hope I’d see you settle down, but I don’t mind being wrong this time,” his mama said, hugging him tightly and smiling widely at him.

He kissed her cheek and after everyone congratulated them (some people twice) he finally found his way back to Mac and wrapped an arm around his waist, kissing his earlobe before whispering, “You think they’ll notice if I steal you away to the stable?”

“After the fireworks,” Mac promised, lips brushing his cheek, laughing when Jack whined a little. “It’s okay, I’m sure you’ll survive.”

“Don’t bet on it,” Jack muttered, but he knew Mac was right.

Some of the kids went and dragged out yard games that Jack didn’t even know he owned, and he wound up watching everybody play cornhole and touch football until it was time for the big dinner. The spread was insane: hotdogs, hamburgers, chicken wings, plus every side dish imaginable and pies for dessert. Mac brought him a little bit of everything along with a beer when he joined Jack to eat, everybody once again sprawled on the grass. The food was delicious—not that Jack expected anything else—and everyone had a great time, talking and laughing loudly, and Jack hadn’t realized until now how much he missed this kind of madness.

“Hey, Juan just called!” Warren said out a while later, getting everyone’s attention. “Lauren and the baby are doing great, but she kicked him out, so he’s coming back with Cam and Maria.”

A general cheer went up through the crowd. They were having dessert by then, but they were more than enough leftovers for Cam, Maria, and Juan to eat. “Oh good!” Alice said over a slice of apple pie. “Did they name the baby?”

“They sure did,” Warren crowed, grinning like a wolf in Jack and Mac’s direction. “Jack Angus Dalton.”

Jack choked on the piece of pie that was currently in his mouth and he heard Mac choke on his beer. McClane, who had been watching them and hoping for some pie, tilted his head curiously, but Jack barely noticed, too busy trying not to die. “W-What?” Mac stuttered out, recovering first, and when Jack looked at him he was staring at Warren with wide eyes before turning his head to look at Jack.

“Again?” Jack asked when he found his voice, completely dumbfounded. “They named a kid after me _again_?” He couldn’t help but tear up a little, but god dammit, he was allowed to get emotional every now and then.

Mac still looked completely shocked, something that didn’t happen too often. “But I... why?”

“Uh, maybe because you helped deliver the baby?” Desi said, elbowing him lightly. “That’s a pretty big deal.”

“Wait, so there’s gonna be somebody _else_ with my name? And this time it’s my _brother_?” Jacqueline exclaimed indignantly, her hands on her hips. She squinted at Jack like it was his fault. “One was enough!”

That got everybody laughing, and Mac looped both arms around one of Jack’s and kissed his cheek. “I love your family,” he said just loud enough for Jack to hear.

That made Jack’s heart flutter and he turned to look at Mac, smiling softly. “They love you too,” he murmured, and leaned in to kiss him on the mouth, closing his eyes and reveling in the feeling of Mac’s lips on his.

“Uncle Jack, gross!” Rafael called out, groaning loudly, accompanied by most of the kids.

Jack pulled back with a sigh and rested his forehead against Mac’s. “Can’t you just shoot the damn fireworks already?” he muttered against Mac’s lips, making him chuckle.

“I think we can probably get started,” Mac whispered to him, and then pushed himself to his feet and grinned at the kids. “Okay, who wants to blow some stuff up?”

They all cheered wildly, and Mac showed them how to set up the fireworks and light them safely. When the hit the sky they were maybe not as colorful as traditional ones but they still looked cool, and Maria and Cam got back with Juan in time to see them. Everybody “ooohed” and “ahhhed” accordingly... and while the big finale was happening, Mac grabbed Jack’s hand and tugged him toward the stable.

~***~

As soon as they were inside Jack pushed Mac against one of the gates—Delta’s stall this time—and he crashed their lips together. “I love that you use explosions as a distraction,” he muttered against Mac mouth before shoving his tongue down Mac’s throat and gripping Mac’s hips tightly with his hands.

Mac laughed into the kiss, wrapping his arms around Jack’s neck and kissing back just as enthusiastically. “You’ve seen me do that a million times,” he said, gasping a little when Jack nipped at his lower lip, then his chin, then his jaw. Behind them Delta snuffled curiously at Mac’s hair, and Mac giggled and used his grip on Jack’s neck to pull him back slightly. “Maybe we should go upstairs? I don’t think I want to have a threesome with your horse.”

“God, no,” Jack muttered, shuddering a little, and he forced himself to pull back. He grabbed Mac’s hand and tugged him in the direction of the stairs and they climbed to the loft as fast as Jack’s back let them. Their pillows and blankets were still there along with the wine—something to enjoy later—so they both laid down, Jack a bit slower than Mac. As soon as they were on their sides Jack wrapped his arm around Mac to pull him close and pressed their lips together. “Jesus, finally,” he groaned, sliding his hand down to grope Mac’s ass as he deepened the kiss.

“Somebody’s eager,” Mac commented, although from the way his hands roamed all over Jack’s body he didn’t seem too patient himself. He hitched a leg over Jack’s hip to pull himself closer, their tongues sliding together. His hand smoothed down Jack’s chest and abs before sneaking under the hem of his t-shirt to get at his skin, that simple touch enough to make goosebumps break out all over Jack’s body.

“Can you blame me? Not my fault I have such a gorgeous fiancé,” Jack said, smiling when Mac blushed, and then he nipped at his lower lip before moving to mouth at Mac’s throat.

He let go of Mac’s ass and tugged his shirt out of his jeans, sliding a hand under the material and stroking Mac’s back. Mac shivered under his touch and moaned softly when Jack sucked at the delicate skin of his throat. Suddenly, there was some kind of sound coming from downstairs and Jack froze when he realized what he heard were footsteps. They were followed by louder ones and a hushed voice, and Jack didn’t even dare breathe and judging by how still Mac was against him, neither did he.

“But Uncle Mark, we want to see the horses!” Rafael whined loudly.

“Yeah, and we saw Uncle Jack and Uncle Mac come here!” Adrienne whined as well.

“Maybe some other time, hmm?” Marks voice sounded next and it sounded... strained and amused at the same time. “The horses are tired, I’m sure, and your uncles... are not here as you can see.”

“What about upstairs?” Adrienne’s tiny voice asked.

“Why would they go upstairs?” Mark asked, his voice falsely incredulous, at least to Jack’s ears. “There’s nothing to do up there! Come on, let’s go visit the pigs instead.”

Thankfully the footsteps both large and small retreated after that, and Mac let out a relieved chuckle. “That could’ve been extremely awkward,” he said, and took advantage of the pause to sit up and divest himself of his shirt, grabbing Jack’s brace and starting on the straps. “I don’t think they would’ve bought it if we said we were wrestling.”

“Probably not,” Jack agreed, also sitting up and taking off his t-shirt as soon as Mac tossed his brace aside. He pulled Mac in for a kiss and they laid back down, and Jack moaned a little when their chests press together, the skin on skin contact driving him crazy. “Hope no one else decides to barge in here,” he muttered against Mac’s lips, hands wandering and exploring Mac’s amazing body and all his muscles, and then he slid one hand down Mac’s chest to toy with the buckle of his belt.

Mac pulled in a sharp little breath when Jack’s hand got close to where he wanted it, his fingertips digging into Jack’s bicep. “That would be... bad,” he agreed, apparently unable to come up with any other words.

He rolled them over so that Jack’s on top of him, between his legs, and right about now Jack would give anything to be able to just fuck him senseless in this position. That wasn’t going to happen and they both knew it, but it didn’t stop both of Mac’s hands from gripping Jack’s ass tightly as they continued to kiss. Jack groaned into his mouth before breaking the kiss to mouth at Mac’s jaw. Mac shuddered underneath him when his teeth grazed his skin, and then Jack moved lower to suck a bruise into the side of his neck. At the same time he slowly slid his hand down Mac’s side, reaching his belt again, but he didn’t tease this time and instead he quickly got his jeans undone and pushed his hand into Mac’s underwear, wrapping his fingers around his cock.

Mac groaned quietly, his head tilting back, blue eyes staring up at the rafters. “Oh God, Jack.”

Jack hummed an acknowledgment and started stroking him slowly, his grip firm, thumb grazing over the head each time he reached it. The pace had Mac writhing under him in a matter of moments, and Jack pressed a kiss to the hinge of his jaw. “You’re so damn beautiful, darlin’. And all mine.”

“Yours, all yours,” Mac gasped, his fingers gripping Jack’s shoulder and biceps, and hearing Mac say that... it went straight to Jack’s dick and he groaned against Mac’s skin, his hips twitching.

He pressed a series of soft kisses down Mac’s jaw until he reached his ear and he nipped on the lobe, stroking Mac a bit faster. “What do you want, baby? You wanna come like this?”

“Not yet,” Mac said, stifling a whimper and smiling. “I’ve got another idea.”

He hooked his leg over Jack’s hip and rolled them slowly, using one of his arms to brace Jack’s back so he didn’t get hurt. Then he shoved his jeans and underwear down and off before pressing a kiss to Jack’s mouth and moving lower. He wriggled down between Jack’s legs and bit his hipbone, his intent suddenly very clear as those clever fingers went to work on getting Jack’s jeans open. He got them undone in a record time and he sat up a little to tug them off along with Jack’s underwear. Once they were both naked, Mac grinned at Jack wickedly before leaning down to give Jack’s cock a long lick before taking the head into his mouth a sucking, making Jack gasp and curse, hands twisting in the blanket underneath him.

“Oh Jesus, that’s so good,” Jack breathed out, a moan leaving his lips when Mac’s mouth sunk lower, taking more of the shaft inside. He was ridiculously good at this, pulling up to tongue at the slit before diving back down again, lowering himself all the way to the base and swallowing around Jack’s cock. “Fuck, Angus, baby.”

Jack threw his head back, but he wasn’t able to stay staring up for long. Mac was just too gorgeous like this, pretty lips wrapped around Jack’s cock, and Jack glanced back down at him, unable to look away. As if he sensed Jack’s gaze on him, Mac looked up and sweet Jesus, his eyes were so wide and blue... and then Mac fucking winked at him before swallowing around Jack’s cock again. Jack’s hips twitched a little and he had to concentrate to keep them down, both because he didn’t want to hurt Mac, but also his back.

Mac must’ve read his mind somehow because he pinned Jack’s hips down with his arm and started bobbing his head up and down, driving Jack absolutely insane. It became clear to Jack right away that Mac’s intention was to make him come, but he wanted to do it as slowly as possible—as soon as Jack felt his toes starting to curl, Mac backed off, loosening his lips around the head and waiting for Jack to stop twitching before diving down again.

Soon Jack was nothing more than a groaning puddle of goo, whimpering every time Mac did something particularly clever with his tongue. “Angus, please, I’m dying here.”

Mac looked at him again, raising his eyebrow and Jack was sure that if he could he would smirk. He pinched his hip instead and started moving his head up and down rhythmically, pausing only to swallow around Jack’s cock before moving again, and Jack thought he was going to die. One of his hands went into Mac’s hair, gripping it tightly, and Mac moaned loudly around his cock. Jack tugged on Mac’s hair and he moaned again, the vibrations shooting straight up Jack’s dick into his brain.

He felt himself getting close to the edge and touched Mac’s cheek with his other hand in warning. “Angus, darlin’, I’m so close, I’m gonna—” And when Mac just pinched his hip again, Jack let go, coming down his throat, a broken moan rumbling from his chest when he felt Mac swallow everything he had to give.

Mac worked him through it with his tongue and then he pulled back, letting Jack’s soft cock slip out of his mouth. He wiped his lips with the back of his hand before crawling up Jack’s body. He leaned down and kisses him lazily, and Jack groaned when he tasted himself on Mac’s tongue, and he needed a moment to recover because he was pretty sure Mac sucked the ability to function normally out of him.

“You’re incredible,” was the first thing that came out of Jack’s mouth once he could breathe again. He slid one hand up Mac’s back and tangled it in his hair again, and the other one moved down to grasp Mac’s cock. He gave him some firm, fast strokes and Mac pushed his face into Jack’s neck and started to pant, his body trembling as he got close to release.

“Jack, oh god,” Mac whimpered against his neck, his voice hoarse from sucking Jack’s cock. His hips started moving as he thrusted into Jack’s hand, his breath hot against Jack’s skin, and he was... he was so damn beautiful.

“That’s right, baby,” Jack murmured into Mac’s ear, tugging on Mac’s hair a little harder. “Come for me, Angus, let me hear you.”

Mac’s hips stuttered and he came with a soft cry, his teeth scraping over Jack’s pulse. He spurted all over Jack’s hand and he worked him through it, gentling his strokes until he let go completely. He brought his hand up to his mouth and licked his fingers, tasting Mac on his tongue for the first time. He let his fingers slip out of Mac’s hair too, that hand stroking down his back as he came down from his high. Mac slumped down on top of him, breathing heavily against his neck. He seemed to remember Jack’s back after a moment because he slid off him, mumbling an apology, but he kept one leg slung over Jack’s thighs and he was pressed against Jack’s side with his arm over his middle, so he was basically still half on top of Jack.

“You alright, darlin’?” Jack murmured into Mac’s ear, the hand that stroked down Mac’s back eventually finding its way to Mac’s ass and resting there.

“Mhmm, I’m... really good,” Mac said, and his voice was so hoarse, Jack loves it. He pressed a kiss to the underside of Jack’s jaw before lifting his head enough to look at him. There was concern in his eyes, but also something so affectionate that it took Jack’s breath away. “Are you okay?”

“Never better.” Jack smiled and Mac’s eyes searched his face for a moment before he grinned. He leaned down to press their lips together in a sweet kiss and then he snuggled into Jack, resting his head on his shoulder. “I’m gonna get you a ring,” Jack murmured after a moment, kissing the top of Mac’s head. “I’m gonna do it right.”

Mac smiled against Jack’s skin, his hand squeezing Jack’s hip. “I love you,” he said, nuzzling even closer. “And as much as I’d like a ring, you don’t need to worry about that right now. Let’s get through your surgery tomorrow and then we can think about jewelry shopping.”

Jack swallowed hard and sighed, his chest tightening a little when he thought about the surgery. “Hey. It’s gonna be alright. Whatever happens tomorrow and after that... it’s gonna be alright, we’ll figure it out.”

They laid in silence for a while after that, and it’d been so long that Jack wondered if Mac’s fallen asleep, so it startled him a little when he spoke again: “You know I didn’t say yes just because you’re having surgery, right? And my answer isn’t going to change, no matter what happens. You’re... you’re it for me, Jack.”

“I know that,” Jack said softly, and he shifted a little so that he could wrap both arms around Mac. “You’re it for me too, baby, there’s no one else I want.” He kissed Mac’s hair again. “I just... I don’t know. Is it... is it weird that a part of me wants to stay here, no matter how it goes tomorrow? But at the same time, if it works... I’ve been doing many versions of the same job since... always, basically, and I don’t know if I can live without it. It’s... kinda a big mess up in my head.”

Mac kissed his collarbone. “I know,” he said softly. “I remember the nightmares you had back when you stayed with me after you moved to LA from here. And I’ll help you however I can. But I do know this: if you’re not gonna do the job, then I don’t want to either. And money isn’t an issue.” He paused, and when he spoke again it was slowly. “I, um... might be sort of independently wealthy?”

Jack was going to tell Mac how much he loved him and kiss him for being so amazing, but it all flew out of his head. “Wait, what?” He frowned, turning his head to look down at Mac. “I thought all your grandfather left you was the house? Unless...” He narrowed his eyes. “Matty was paying you more than me, which is completely acceptable and justified, but I’m still gonna whine about that.”

Mac shook his head, propping himself up on an elbow so they could be eye to eye. “No, it’s nothing like that,” he said, and then looked... embarrassed? “Remember that story I told you about how the lidar tech I invented for the Air Force started going haywire? Well, I patented it before I sold it to the government... along with a few other pieces of tech... and they paid me. A lot. Like I have several million dollars in the bank, plus other investments.” He made a face. “My lawyer is probably going to want a prenup, but we don’t need one.”

Jack made a sound in the back of his throat. “You have a lawyer?” he asked, staring at Mac with wide eyes. “If he insists, I’ll sign whatever you want, it’s fine,” he added before his eyes widened even more. “Damn, baby, contrary to how old we both are, looks like you’re _my_ sugar daddy.”

Mac laughed and leaned in to kiss Jack’s cheek. “Okay, I’ll be your sugar daddy,” he said, smiling softly. “Unless you’re planning on divorcing me, I don’t think a prenup is necessary.” He yawned and then cuddled close to Jack’s side again, pushing his face into his shoulder. “And since I’m never letting you go, it’s a moot point. Now go to sleep, you’ve got a big day tomorrow.”

Jack hummed in acknowledgement and grabbed one of the blankets to cover them. He grinned a little when he realized they’d slept together more often in the stable than the actual bedroom, but before he could point it out to Mac he realized Mac’s already asleep. He wasn’t snoring, not exactly, but he made this soft noise every time he exhaled and it was the most adorable thing in the world. Taking a deep breath, Jack forced himself to push any worries about the surgery away and he buried his nose in Mac’s hair. He closed his eyes and surrounded by the familiar smell of home and sunshine, he slowly drifted away.

~***~

In the morning, Jack was awoken by creaking on the stairs that had him reaching for a gun that wasn’t there. He relaxed when he saw Mac’s blond head poke up from beneath the level of the floor. He carried sweatpants and an oversized hoodie, along with sneakers. “Hey,” he said quietly, leaning down to give Jack a kiss. “It’s like five in the morning, everybody’s already up and eating in the house. I brought you some clothes, and when they’re done we’ll head to the hospital.

“Mhmm, alright,” Jack muttered, grabbing Mac by the shirt and pulling him in for another kiss. He was dressed, much to Jack’s chagrin, but he supposed it made sense since he went back to the house. “How much shit did they give you for doing the walk of shame again?”

“Surprisingly none, although the kids were pissed that I got to sleep in the stable with the horses,” Mac replied, grinning at him before helping him get dressed and put on his brace. “I think your family is more worried than they’re letting on. Both families, actually—Riley was kind of tense when I talked to her. But they get to go visit Lauren and the other Jack while you’re in surgery.”

“Hey, not fair! I wanna visit my new nephew too!” Jack whined, mostly to distract himself.

Mac, however, saw right through him as he usually did. The grin on his face softened and once he helped Jack stand he wrapped his arms around his neck. “Hey,” he said against his cheek. “It’s gonna be fine.”

Jack slipped his arms around Mac’s waist and held him close, burying his face in his shoulder. “With you in there I feel better about it, but I’m still kinda freaking out,” he admitted, his hand rubbing up and down Mac’s back.

“About that...” Mac started. “Would you mind if my dad was there too? I think I could use the extra hands.”

He was nervous too, Jack realized, just as much as Jack is if not more. It was understandable considering he was going to be responsible for everything that would be put into Jack’s body. “Not at all, baby. The more the merrier.”

Mac visibly relaxed and hugs Jack a little tighter before pulling back and pecking his lips. “Come on, we should go.” He untangled himself from Jack and grabbed his hand instead, gently tugging him downstairs.

When they got to the house everyone had wrapped up with breakfast, and Riley immediately came over to hug Jack gently. “How are you feeling?” she asked, worry in the furrow of her brow. “Are you nervous?”

“Of course I am, baby girl,” Jack said, pushing some of her hair behind her ear. “But there ain’t much I can do about that, now is there? We just have to get it done and hope for the best.”

Everybody was there and Jack briefly wondered where the hell they all slept, but then he figured mama and Juan probably took some of them back to the Dalton ranch. “Alright, here’s the plan,” Alice started, walking up to Jack and putting her hands on his shoulders. “Sydney and Maria are staying here with the kids so they don’t die of boredom at the hospital—we’ll work out the visiting schedule later. The rest of us is coming with you whether you like it or not. Is that clear, Jacky?”

“Okay, Mama,” Jack said, and he gave her a hug, blinking hard when he felt tears well in his eyes. “I wish Dad was here,” he added, the words coming out before he could stop them.

“Me too, Jacky,” she whispered in his ear. “Every damn day.”

They parted and everybody went out front to pile into the vehicles. Jack wound up riding in Mac’s rented Jeep with James, Riley, and Desi, the latter of whom was driving. James was in the passenger seat and Jack sat in the back, squeezed between Mac and Riley. Mac’s hand was on his thigh, just resting there, and Jack found the touch comforting. On his other side Riley rested her head on his shoulder and while Jack would’ve very much liked to say something to reassure her, he didn’t really know what could do that.

~***~

The drive took two hours but it felt like Jack blinked and it was over, and then he was faced with the doors to the hospital. They went into the surgical center and checked in, with Mac filling out more forms as a woman put an ID bracelet around Jack’s wrist. Mac and James both got badges that identified them as hospital personnel, and then they had to leave everyone else behind when they went back to a pre-op suite so Jack could change into a gown.

“I hate these things,” Jack grumbled as he put on the gown, just like he always did, and Mac rolled his eyes fondly, also like always.

But this time he also came closer and kissed Jack’s cheek. “Stop whining, it’s cute.”

“I think we need to discuss your definition of cute,” Jack grumbled again. “Kittens are cute. Puppies are cute. You are cute. This is _not_.”

James came in with more paperwork. “Nice legs, Dalton,” he commented, a huge grin on his face. “You look cute.”

“See? I told you!” Mac exclaimed, laughing when he saw the look on Jack’s face.

“Wait, you’re okay with the fact that your dad thinks I’m cute?” Jack asked incredulously.

“As long as you don’t think my dad is cute, I think I’m good,” Mac said, grinning widely, and James actually _pouted_. He attempted to give Jack the paperwork, but Mac grabbed it instead and started filling everything out, only giving it to Jack to sign.

“You really _are_ married already,” James said, glancing between them with his eyebrows raised.

“He’ll fill out the marriage license and make me sign that too, not that I’m complaining,” Jack joked, and then he looked at James more seriously. “Thanks for agreeing to do this.”

“No problem,” James said, and he put a hand on Jack’s shoulder. “You’re already family, and you’re going to be my son in law. Besides, I’m always happy to work with Angus.”

Jack tried not to think too much about how weird it felt to think of James as his future father in law. Instead he looked at Mac who seemed completely normal... except for a tiny thing shining in his eyes that told Jack he was way more nervous and worried that he let on. “You ready?” he asked, shoving his hands in his jeans pockets, and Jack knew it was because otherwise he would be wringing his fingers.

“I hope he is,” Dr. Blake said as he came in along with a whole gaggle of people. He offered a hand for Jack to shake, which he did. “Jack, this is Dr. Bordeaux, she’ll be your anesthesiologist.”

“Promise I’m not drunk,” the short woman next to Blake said, and he was so nervous it took Jack a minute to realize she made a joke about her name.

She started an IV in the back of his hand... and soon Jack felt much more relaxed and they were getting ready to wheel him out. He knew Mac’s around somewhere, he heard his voice, and before he knew it he was already in the operating room. The docs were getting him settled and lying down, and suddenly Mac’s face appeared above him. His blue eyes were serious yet soft at the same time and his hair was a mess, and Jack loved him so much.

Mac touched his cheek gently before leaning down and giving him a short kiss. “Love you,” he said into Jack’s ear.

Jack murmured the words back, and out of the corner of his eye he saw a nurse add something to his IV... and then he was asleep.

~***~

When Jack woke up it felt like no time has passed, and everything was sort of blurry—it took his brain a minute to work out that he was in some kind of recovery room that looked almost exactly like the pre-op room. The first person he saw was Mac, who looked exhausted, his eyes bloodshot and his hands trembling.

Mac saw Jack’s awake he jumped out of his chair and came to the side of the bed, leaning down to kiss Jack’s forehead. “Hey. How are you feeling?”

Jack blinked a few times, his brain working hard to remember how to use words. “M’fine,” he muttered, even though he wasn’t sure about that—he didn’t really feel much at the moment and the room was kind of spinning if he tried to look around. He focused on Mac and frowned when he took in his appearance again, because to be honest Mac looked _awful_. “S’wrong? Are you okay?” he mumbled, moving his hand until Mac got the message and grabbed it in his own.

Mac smiled at him and squeezed his fingers. “The surgery took a long time,” he said, his other hand coming up to cup Jack’s cheek, thumb stroking over his cheekbone. “You were asleep for almost eight hours.”

Jack’s eyes went wide and he stared at Mac in disbelief. “What? No way!”

“Yes, way,” Mac said, clearly amused. “How’s your pain? Do you feel okay? They want to move you to a regular room.”

“I’m... okay, I think?” Jack frowned a little, trying to think. “Whatever drugs they have me on they’re doing one hell of a job.” He stared at Mac again just because he could and because Mac’s so fucking beautiful it was unbelievable. “Have I ever told you you look like an angel? With those blue eyes of yours and that hair... such a pretty angel, though you’re also devilishly handsome.”

Mac blushed immediately and ducked his head. “Jack, I love you, but you’re crazy.”

Jack squeezed his hand, turning his head a little to kiss his palm. “No, I’m not... well I am, but not when it comes to this, you’re stunning.”

“Well, you aren’t so bad yourself,” Mac said, and then an orderly came in to move Jack.

Mac walked with the bed, not letting go of his hand, and the room Jack wound up in was more like a hotel suite than a hospital. “Doc wants him to try and walk around as soon as he’s able,” the orderly said to Mac before he left, and James must’ve holding back Jack’s family from bombarding him all at once.

“How’s the fam? Driving everyone crazy?” Jack asked the second the orderly was gone. “Also, ain’t no way I’m getting up now, baby. Unless you wanna catch me when I fall and flex those lovely muscles of yours, then I’m game.”

“They’re fine, I’m sure,” Mac said, and he checked to make sure all the monitors were hooked up properly before he sat down next to the bed. “I haven’t had a chance to find out, I’ve been waiting for you to wake up.” Another smile, one that grew bigger when Jack tugged Mac’s hand up to his mouth to kiss the back of it. “You’re awfully flirty when you’re high, can’t believe I never noticed.”

“Made sure you never noticed.” Jack grinned, feeling ridiculously giddy. “Like I... I blocked it all, so that it wouldn’t get out even when I was high on painkillers.” The grin on his face widened. “But now that you said you’d marry me... I can tell you all about how fucking pretty you are and what I’d like to do to you. Speaking of... how did the surgery go? Because I _really_ want to fuck you through the mattress—or the floor up in the stable, I’m cool with that—but I need to be able to move to do that.”

Mac’s cheeks were flaming now, and he leaned over to press his face into Jack’s shoulder. “Babe, you can’t just _say_ shit like that,” he whined, and Jack cackled. “But the surgery went really well. If you do all the physical therapy... you should be able to move pretty much how you used to.” He lifted his face enough to give Jack a kiss, sweet and slow. “I love you, and you’re gonna be fine.”

“I love you too,” Jack murmured, and he grabbed Mac by his shirt when he tried to pull away. He shifted on the bed and then tugged Mac until he was half-hanging off the mattress.

“Oh my god, Jack,” Mac laughed, but did what Jack clearly wanted and laid down on the bed, pressed against Jack’s side. “You’re surprisingly strong for someone so high.”

“Mhmm,” Jack hummed, wrapping his arm around Mac and turning his head to nip on his earlobe. “And about that physical therapy... obviously I’ll do it all, but I’m sure we can also come up with a few exercises of our own to... you know, make me get better faster.”

“You’re terrible,” Mac told him, but he snuggled into his side and put an arm across Jack’s middle. He pressed his lips to his cheek, then nuzzled his skin. “I’ll be happy to help you get better in whatever way I can, up to and including sex.” Jack smiled and then stifled a yawn, and Mac chuckled. “You can go back to sleep if you want, I’ll text my dad and get him to herd the family to the cafeteria or something.

“But you said I was asleep for almost eight hours! What am I, Sleeping Beauty? I ain’t gonna get any prettier, that’s for sure,” Jack whined, pouting just a little. “And you were stuck here all alone waiting for me to stop napping, you must’ve been bored outta your mind.” He yawned again and his eyes were dropping, but Jack forced himself not to close them. “I don’t wanna sleep, I wanna keep kissing and cuddling my fiancé.”

Mac stroked his hand soothingly over Jack’s chest and abs, up and down, and it only made Jack drowsier. “You can cuddle me and sleep at the same time,” Mac pointed out, and dammit, Jack hated it when he was right. “Go to sleep, baby. I’ll be right here when you wake up, I promise.”

“But you’re gonna be bored, you hate being bored,” Jack mumbled, barely awake at that point. “And I’mma... I can’t kiss you when I’m asleep. I love kissing you, your lips are so soft.”

Mac brought his hand up to Jack’s face, and he felt those long fingers brush his cheek. “I love kissing you too,” he said softly, and his lips touched Jack’s jaw. “You’re very good at it. Now go to sleep so you can heal up and do more than just kiss me.”

“Mhmm, I’m good at many things,” Jack mumbled, and he let his eyes close. He blindly leaned in and managed to locate Mac’s lips, but he was too tired and uncoordinated to do anything besides breathe into Mac’s mouth. He stopped fighting the drowsiness and fell asleep, the last thing he remembered the soft press of Mac’s lips against his.


End file.
